By Syed Marwan Shah ISLAMABAD, March 29, (INP-WealthPK): The Pakistan Railways (PR) has digitalized 168,858 acres of its land spread over 108 sections in the country – including the operational, built-up, and agricultural land. The land has been digitalized under the Land Management Information System (LMIS), which will help the railway authorities in accessing their land, including the encroached one, within no time. All related data is available on the railways' website. With this software/application, the PR will keep track of its agricultural, residential, and commercial lands across the country. The Pakistan Railways has 83,138 acres of land in Punjab, 45,663 acres in Sindh, 23,771 acres in Balochistan and 16,286 acres in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Federal Minister for Railways Muhammad Azam Khan Swati said all the information and data relating to the railway's land is digitalized and available at their fingertips. He said the ministry was considering changing its land department Real Estate Development and Management Company (REDAMCO) to a new company – Land Management Company – through amendments to the railway acts. Currently, REDAMCO has two responsibilities, i.e., building up and leasing the railway's land, while the Land Management Company will be responsible for looking after of all the railway's land. Swati said the Land Management Company will have its board of directors and chief executive officer and will also be made independent. No railway officer or minister can interfere in his duties. In contrast, the company's sole priority will be revenue generation from leasing out the lands. According to the data available with WealthPK, the Pakistan Railways land under use for operational purposes is 126,426 acres, while 17,283 acres of land is reserved for future operational use. Similarly, 4,385 acres of land is utilized under the stations and railway staff colonies; in the same way, the land leased out for various purposes is 10,792 acres. Likewise, the land under encroachments is 4,741 acres, while 5,231 acres of land is being utilized under the Katchi Abadis (shanties). Talking about revenues from the lands, Swati said the PR had earned the highest ever revenue of Rs700 million from the railway lands alone in the first six months of the ongoing fiscal year. The railway ministry has set a target of Rs2 billion from the PR lands through lease in the last six months of 2021-22. Moreover, the minister said in keeping with the PR performance to generate Rs2 billion, Rs4 billion revenue was expected from the land in one year.