KHANEWAL-Federal Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique claimed on Sunday that earnings of the railways have rose to Rs35.6 billion from Rs18 billion and the day is not far-off when it will be in the list of profitable departments.
“Losses of the railways have been on the decline since the current government came to power with better and smooth functioning while it will become a modern and well-equipped department by the end of the government’s tenure.”
Talking to media persons at Khanewal railway station en route to Bahawalpur on Sunday, Saad Rafique said that he is really gratefully to the labourers and workers of the railways for turning around performance of the PR with dedication, adding that hard work and dedication of the workers has given him the confidence to make claims about the betterment and rehabilitation of the Pakistan Railways.
The PR minister informed that funds would be allocated in the upcoming budget for the new building of Khanewal railway station. He admitted that capacity of the present old building is not according to the needs of the passengers, especially senior citizens, patients and the disabled. He claimed that a loan of Rs6 billion of the PR has been retired and outdated locomotives are being replaced. “There will be no compromise on standard of locomotives while signing contracts with companies,” he declared, adding that railways had become stagnant and the management has realized that there is no alternative other than working hard for the revival of this vital state entity.
Kh Saad hoped that following strict measures, the PR performance would be improved. He said he had neither violated discipline himself nor would allow anyone to do so. He said that the government is making all-out efforts to bring improvements in every sector of the economy, including development of mega-hydropower projects, rail and road infrastructure, education and health.
The railways minister said that all railway lands located along the rail track would be transformed into green belts and parks with the help of the City District Government and Parks & Horticulture Authority. He also assured that the issues of porters (qulies) would be addressed on priority basis. Commented on the current political situation after Panama Papers issue, he criticized PTI chairman Imran khan, saying that poor performance of PTI in KPK has been exposed by the victory of the PML-N MPA in the Peshawar by-election. He said the popularity of the PML government is increasing to good performance and service delivery.