Minister challenges AGP report on railway losses

Abbasi says revenues top Rs115b; announces outsourcing of schools and hospitals

RAWALPINDI:

Pakistan Railways achieved a record revenue of Rs115 billion, the highest in its 178-year history, Railways Minister Hanif Abbasi revealed on Monday, while formally declaring that all railway schools and hospitals would be outsourced as part of the organisation's privatisation process.

Speaking to the media after inaugurating newly-constructed running rooms for guards and locomotive pilots at the Rawalpindi Railway Loco Shed, the minister said Pakistan Railways was undergoing wide-ranging reforms, including digitisation, right-sizing in various departments and the outsourcing of schools and hospitals under a public-private partnership model.

Abbasi said the railway had reduced operational costs by Rs3.6 billion within four months after he assumed office, adding that the organisation was on course to meet its current revenue target by July 6. He said five trains had already been outsourced, freight revenue had increased by 32% and land earnings across railway divisions had risen by more than 50%.

The minister said Pakistan Railways was earning record profits and rejected the Auditor General of Pakistan's report as "misleading", claiming the reported 19% loss was incorrect and an attempt to undermine the department's progress.

Abbasi said the newly inaugurated running rooms, equipped with air conditioning, improved accommodation and solar-powered uninterrupted electricity, were the first such facilities provided to guards and locomotive pilots in 36 years. He thanked the Director General of the Frontier Works Organisation for upgrading the rooms and said similar facilities would be established in other major cities.

The minister also announced plans to upgrade the exterior of Rawalpindi Railway Station on the pattern of Lahore, saying the project had been planned in consultation with the Rawalpindi Station Commander and was expected to be completed by December.