Uzair bin Farid

Railway track rehabilitation work is in full swing which will improve the speed of locomotives to carry passengers to their respective destinations on time, a Pakistan Railways official told WealthPK. The infrastructure, including the track and signalling system from Karachi to Peshawar, Main Line-I (ML-I), and doubling of track from Lahore to Peshawar (462.20Km), is also being revamped, he said.

The length of the track is 1,726km and the department has planned to improve the speed to 160km per hour in the project for upgradation of ML-I under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). In this regard, a modified PC-I amounting to Rs9.851 billion has been approved by the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC).

To improve the speed of trains and ensure fixed timings, procurement of 230 passenger coaches and 820 High-Capacity Wagons under the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) project is also underway. Around 46 Completely-Built-Up (CBU) passenger coaches have been procured so far, while the remaining 184 would be manufactured in Pakistan. The coaches would be able to travel at the speed of 160km/h.

The official said the rolling stock being procured under this project would be capable of running at a speed of 160km/h whereas the department had a dedicated fleet of 55 diesel-electric locomotives of 4,000-4,500HP for freight operation to cater to maximum haulage at higher speeds.

“Installation of Computer Based Interlocking (CBI) system at 48 stations on ML-I is meant to improve signalling and interlocking for higher speed and safety of train operation,” the official added. To a question, he said the Pakistan Railways is a large organization employing around 63,000 employees with a massive network spreading countrywide.

The employees enjoy facilities like healthcare through an intensive network of hospitals, dispensaries and child healthcare units. Provision of government accommodation according to entitlement and priority list, staff benevolent funds, benefits and incentives provided through the Prime Minister’s Family Assistance Package policy for deceased employees’ families are part of these facilities.

The other facilities include benefits and incentives provided through policy for disabled employees' families, scale-wise monthly grants for widows, establishment of primary and high schools, industrial schools to teach handicrafts, sports activities, pick and drop facility for schools/offices, installation of water filters plants, and special provision of five medical seats at the Riphah Islamic Universities with reduction of 50 percent in admission and tuition fees.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan-WealthPk