Passengers on Sunday demanded that authorities take action against overcharging in the Mianwali Express train. They staged a demonstration near the Sargodha Railway Station here on Sunday. A passenger, Azhar Hussain, who travels from Sargodha to Lahore twice a month, stated that despite a reduction in the prices of petroleum products several times, the management of Mianwali Express had not reduced the fares.
He also said that as Eid ul Azha neared, authorities should take stern action regarding extra fares. He maintained that the fare for a common AC bus from Sargodha to Lahore was around Rs800 to Rs1000, while the fare for the same trip on the Mianwali Express train was Rs1470.
Another train passenger and worker, Muhammad Luqman from Quaidabad, mentioned that although train travel was generally considered cheaper than other modes of transport, this particular train had not reduced its fare. He travels to his hometown from Lahore every weekend. According to the railway department’s fare chart, the fare from Lahore to Sargodha was up to Rs1,100. The protesters demanded railway department’s higher authorities to reduce the fare so that people could continue to travel by train.—APP
