Pakistan Railways: Trains still stuck despite increase in oil purchase credit

Pakistan Railways now receives enough fuel, but the management is in no hurry to get trains back on track.

LAHORE:

Despite an increase in the credit line for oil purchases, Pakistan Railways (PR) is still reluctant to restart its non-operational trains, which remain suspended due to dysfunctional locomotives and oil crisis.

PR now receives enough fuel for its regular passenger as well as freight train operations, but its administration is not in a hurry to get trains back on track, said Adbul Hamid Razi, PR’s director of public relations.

Razi said that PR would first make sure that trains currently running remain in operation. PR’s management is also working on ensuring that trains run according to schedule. Razi, however, added that PR is currently managing to run all of its 60 main line express trains. The total number of on track trains currently stands at 86 – the suspended trains are all branch line trains.

Branch lines which were previously providing high financial returns will be the first to get back on track, Razi said.

Last month Pakistan State Oil (PSO) agreed to increase the credit line for railways to Rs2 billion, on the assurance of the government. Previously the credit limit was Rs1 billion. However, PR has already crossed the limit. The current liability is around Rs120 billion. PSO had previously been reluctant to increase the credit limits due to the bad financial management of PR.

“We will now try to not cross the new credit limit and will keep paying fuel bills regularly,” Razi said. Currently 15 cheques of Rs300 billion are being processed and they will soon be transferred to PSO, he added.

PSO, on Monday, provided fuel for all divisions according to their requirements. Razi said that oil depots will now not dry up, as regular fuel consignments will come in.

With the increasing strength of locomotives, PR is now focusing more on its freight operations, which is the only profitable section for railways. Currently PR operates six freight trains from Karachi to Lahore and Rawalpindi, as well as to India, on a daily basis. The freight operation was suspended for six months due to a dearth of locomotives and oil last year.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 10^th, 2012.