Islamabad/Lahore:
On Tuesday, the National Assembly Railway Committee was informed on Tuesday that a delegation of Chinese experts would visit Pakistan at the end of February and the project of the financial plan of the main line (ML-1) would be completed. Then, the work in this project would begin immediately after the tender.
The Secretary, Ministry of Railroads, provided details about the proposed railway line from 1,726 kilometers from Peshawar to Karachi, with a total estimated cost of $ 6.8 billion.
Currently, 34 trains operate on the route, and once ML-1 is completed, 120 trains are expected to work. The project will be implemented in two phases, phase one from Karachi to fine and phase two from fine to Peshawar, with a Chinese delegation scheduled to visit Pakistan at the end of February.
In addition, the secretary said the railroads have 83 rest houses, of which 10 are out of service. According to the president of the Committee, Rai Hassan Nawaz Khan, the rest houses in Lahore are used by Karachi officers, and those who stay in these facilities often pay their own pockets.
The member of the Syed Wassim Hussain committee emphasized that the questions should be raised only during the agenda, saying: “There is no benefit in the interrogation after the agenda is over.”
In addition, he added that the agenda must include points of all members of the committee, noting that “having two or three points of a single individual on the agenda is excessive.”
Meanwhile, the secretary announced that “13 trains have been subcontracted”, a decision that has improved the quality of the service, with income from subcontracted trains that increase from RS7 billion to RS11 billion. “Until the seven -day payment is made, we do not execute the train.”
Fairs
An increase in oil -derived products prices has affected train passengers, since Pakistan Railways has once again raised passenger train rates by 5%.
According to a notification issued by the railway authorities, the increase in rates will enter into force as of February 5. The increase is applied in all kinds of tickets, as well as room services and extends to all subcontracted trains.
The notification has also been sent to all operating chiefs (division superintendents) of Lahore, Karachi, Sukkur, fine, Rawalpindi, Peshawar and Quetta division and quetta for information and implementation.
He also directs the IT director of Public Relations to guarantee the implementation of the early reserve and instructs the DSS to apply the updated rate table in all stations and reservation offices.
“To guarantee compliance without problems, the personnel of the reserve station and a reserve staff are requested, as well as the station staff. The Divisional Commercial Officer (DCO) in question within seven days.
ML-1 updates and plans
The Railroad Committee of the National Assembly Deliberó on the directly necessary modernization of the railroads.
With everyone that encompasses more and more electronic rail systems, the Secretary of Railways announced that a new “contact application” has been developed. This application will allow passengers to reserve seats and access additional travel information, and when asked about the cost of development, the secretary declared that “no expenses were incurred.”
The plans are underway to link all coaches with the contact application within five to six months. In a wink to the past, railway officials recalled that an electric train service was launched in 1979 between Lahore and Khanewal on a 286 -kilometer track. However, after the closure of the electric trains system, the cables and posts were stolen.
