No more seats: Trains need more compartments to deal with Eid rush

There is not even a single berth or seat available for travel between July 23 and July 27.

KARACHI:

The only solution to ease out the Eid rush is to add more compartments to each passenger train, said Railway Workers Union chairperson Manzoor Razi.

He said that thousands of people come to Karachi City and Cantt stations daily but are unable to book a single seat or berth for travel to upcountry between July 23 and July 24.

People from different parts of the country come to live in Karachi to earn a living. Nonetheless, they wish to go back to their native regions to celebrate Eid with their loved ones. Although Pakistan Railway has announced to run three special Eid trains, but they would not be sufficient to harbour the immense traffic of travellers, said Razi.

As Eid approaches, the booking of seats and berths in all the trains for economy and lower air-conditioned classes is complete between July 23 and July 27. Resultantly, the revenue of the stations has soared up to Rs11 million per day.

According to Razi, this revenue can be multiplied if the number of compartments is increased in each passenger train. Normally, 13 to 15 bogies are attached to each train despite the fact that these trains can lug up to 20 compartments, he said. He suggested that if the Pakistan Railways can add even two to three additional carriages to each train, the demand of seats can be easily met with the added perk of increased revenue for the cash-stripped railways.

Furthermore, Razi demanded of the railway minister to announce a one-month pay as Eid bonus to all the workers of Pakistan Railways to encourage and acknowledge their efforts for increasing the revenue of the department. 

Published in The Express Tribune, July 16^th, 2014.