Monday, May 5, 2008, Rabi-ul-Sani 28, 1429    

Mehtab urged to take steps for better Railways’ services

Peshawar—Member Advisory Committee Pakistan Railways, Zia-ul-Haq Sarhadi has urged the Federal Minister for Railways, Mehtab Ahmad Khan Abbasi to take concrete measures for improving the performance of Pakistan Railways and make it as a profit earning public sector entity.

In a press statement issued here on Sunday, Zia Sarhadi presented some suggestions for improvement in service of Pakistan Railways.

Zia Sarhadi, who is also Executive Member Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI), said that Federal Minister Mehtab Abbasi should concentrate on provision of facilities to people so that more passengers are attracted for traveling in train instead of following the past practice of increasing prices of tickets to overcome losses.

He said due to poor performance of Pakistan Railways, most of the travelers prefer private buses instead of railway train. He said people can be attracted by providing them facilities in train besides ensuring punctuality in timing and quick service at economical rates.

Zia also advised the Federal Minister for Railways to restore the previous procedure of sale of railway tickets through City Booking Agencies operated by private companies.

In the recent past, he continued, the administration of Pakistan Railways has terminated the contract of City Booking Agencies and provided the service to PRACS (Pakistan Railways Advisory and Consultancy Service Pvt Ltd) at higher commission rates.

He said the performance of PRACS is very poor instead of City Railway Booking Agencies and the institution is also charging more commission than private companies which were engaged in this business for the last fifty years.

Sarhadi also suggested for improving cargo service of the Pakistan Railway for increasing its annual income. He said most of the cargo business is shifted to transport companies due to delay in transportation of goods by railway trains.

He also requested Mehtab Abbasi to give especial attention to setting up of a dry port at Azakhel. He said the dry port at Peshawar was constructed in 1986 on temporary basis and is still working after passage of more than 20 years.

He said Mehtab Abbasi, during his stint as Chief Minister of NWFP, had announced allocation of 64 Acre of Land in Azakhel for setting up of dry port besides sanctioning of a Rs. 20 million for Dry Port Trust. However, no concrete step in this direction has been made so far, he added.

He said a delegation of SCCI also held a meeting with former Prime Minister, Shaukat Aziz in regard with setting up of dry port in Azakhel.

Zia said due to non-provision of proper facilities at existing dry port in Peshawar, importers and exporters of the province are facing great hardships.

He also suggested for running of a special train to restore Safari Train Service from Peshawar to Landi Kotal. He said train was attracting a lot of foreigners and country can earn a lot of foreign exchange through this service. He also suggested for proper holding of meetings of Railway Advisory Committee of Pakistan Railways for discussing measures about service improvement.

He stressed for starting of new trains from Peshawar to down country. He said a lot of trains from Peshawar have been stopped which has disappointed the passengers who are now preferring to travel on road transport instead of train.—APP