Unexpected monsoon rains and flash floods across the country have wreaked havoc on Pakistan Railways (PR), causing losses of around Rs90 million a day.

“The monsoon rains and floods have not only destroyed railway tracks but also damaged the bridges which disconnected Sindh and Balochistan with other parts of the country,” according to documents available with WealthPK.

They show the railways suspended the operations of five express trains on the Main Line-I (ML-I) a few days ago until the rehabilitation of railway tracks, while in August, Quetta remained disconnected from the rest of the country after bridge collapse at Mach Station, which had resulted in the cancellation of seven trains between Karachi and Quetta.

According to the documents, the PR has already asked the passengers who want their tickets refunded to contact the respective reservation offices. The floodwater would drain in the next seven to 10 days, which would allow for the rehabilitation and eventual resumption of operations while the freight van operations have resumed on a few tracks at a slow pace of 10-20 kilometres per hour, they say.

The documents say the main line of railways was under the flood water between Tando Masti Khan-Gambat and Mehrabpur-Lakhro sections. Similarly, the track was submerged at various spots in Balochistan.

Taking quick actions, the railways and district administrations of Sindh and Balochistan have utilized all available resources to restore the rail service in the flood-affected areas across the country.

“On the direction of Minister for Railways Khwaja Saad Rafique, the department is putting in maximum efforts for rehabilitation of railway track in Sindh, Balochistan and other affected parts of the country,” say the documents.

They say the PR also directed to complete the ongoing survey of the affected installations and speed up the rehabilitation process. “The technical and non-technical staff of the department is working in three shifts to restore the tracks once the flood water recedes,” they say.

Credit : Independent News Pakistan-WealthPk