ISLAMABAD     -    Paki­stan Railways has floated a tender, allowing na­tional and multinational firms to utilise several passenger trains and rail­way platforms for gener­ating maximum revenue for the department. “All preparations regarding the branding of trains and platforms, railway station, certain crossings and trains have been fi­nalized,” said department sources on Friday. It add­ed that the branding of the trains and platforms would not only cover the increasing deficit of Paki­stan Railways but will al­low private firms to ad­vertise their products for the said purpose. They said that initially, Paki­stan Railways would of­fer five trains for brand­ing their seat covers, internal walls of the pas­senger coaches, and even toilets as a pilot project. “The deficit of the depart­ment will decrease after starting this project and the minister has already directed the department concerned to complete all the formalities in that regard at the earliest,” they added. The sources further said that adver­tisers would have access to the parking area, plat­forms, staircases, bridges and other infrastructure at Lahore Railway Sta­tion. It is not the first time Pakistan Railways has attempted to mon­etise its assets for adver­tising purposes. In 2014 also, the organisation launched a pilot project to offer branding oppor­tunities to companies across the seat covers, internal walls of passen­ger coaches, and toilets on the Tezgam, Khyber Mail, and Awaam Ex­press. However, the ini­tiative was unsuccessful. The initiative, the sourc­es said, however, based on the information, looks to mitigate the problems faced by its predecessor by adopting a grand ap­proach to the issue.