Pakistan Railways benefits from recent air scares

People are preferring to commute via trains.

LAHORE:

The Bhoja Air disaster has provided a lifeline to the trouble-ridden Pakistan Railways (PR). The organisation seems to be benefitting from the aviation industry’s recent woes as commuters distressed after the air crash and disturbed by recent incidents of plane tyre burst and fuel leakages are now taking chances on a grounded railway service.

In days following the crash, Pakistan Railways witnessed an unprecedented increase in its passengers, especially on the Business Express train being operated as a joint venture between the Lahore and Karachi junction.

With growing public distrust in air safety of private airlines and the national flag carrier, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) operating at full capacity, commuters are now flocking to the Business Express train as an alternate mode of travelling between Karachi and Lahore.

According to Zaffar Chauhadry, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Business Express, Karachi bound trains witnessed additional passengers on Monday.

“On a regular Monday, the overall passenger occupancy is estimated around 40% which has increased up to 60% this week,” Chauhadry added.

The increase in passengers, he said is definitely due to the recent air tragedies as people are now frightened of travelling via private airlines.

Despite having its own problems, and limited fleet of operational locomotives, the PR has managed to return life back to the platform of the otherwise vacant Lahore railway station.

“We were scheduled to fly on Sunday via private airline, but when news of fuel tank leakage hit the news circuit we decided to travel via the rail network,” said Jamal Shah, an apprehensive commuter travelling to Karachi along with his wife on the Business Express train.

“I am not the only one to choose the Business Express, there are many families who have quit air travel for the time being due to the series of incidents,” he added.

“The recent incidents have tainted the airline industry, but railways have always carried more passengers during the summer season, mainly due to lower fares for air-conditioned coach services,” said Pakistan Railways spokesperson Ijaz Shah.

Conversely, the road network has failed to attract skeptic air travelers, primarily due to the low quality of roads and longer distances, shortage of quality bus transportation companies and dilapidated highways.

Correction: An earlier version of the article misspelt Chauhadry as Chauhady. The correction has been made. 

Published in The Express Tribune, April 24^th, 2012.