MULTAN City News

Politicians, influentials occupying railway land: Saad Rafiq

Says Torkham to be connected to Karachi under CPEC

From Our Correspondent

MULTAN: Federal Minister for Railways Khawaja Saad Rafiq has said that Torkham will be connected to Karachi via Multan, Lahore, Rawalpindi and Peshawar under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and a new freight train will be introduced for Karachi to facilitate the business community of Multan.

Addressing the Multan Chamber of Commerce and Industry here on Friday, he said that work on several projects, including those related to the CPEC, was under way. Eleven railway stations were being upgraded during the current financial year while another 31 railway stations, including Multan, Sahiwal and Bahawalpur, would be upgraded in the next fiscal year, he added. The minister said that Pakistan Railways was looking to improve its facilities and was going to purchase 200 new locomotives during the next fiscal year. He said that train speed was being increased to 160km/hour in plain areas, like Multan and Lahore, while in hilly areas it would be 120km/hour. The minister said that work on double track from Karachi to Lahore via Multan would be completed soon while track from Lahore to Peshawar via Rawalpindi would be dualised in the next couple of years.

He said that all arrangements had been completed to introduce the e-ticketing system. After the launch of the e-ticketing system, passengers would be able to book and pay for tickets by using their computers or mobile phones, he added. He said that air-conditioned coaches would be added to Rawalpindi-bound Mehr Express to facilitate the people of Multan, Muzaffargarh, Kot Addu, Layyah and Bhakkar.

Khawaja Saad Rafiq said that they had completed survey of 167,000 acres of railway land through the Urban Unit and now its record was being computerised. He said that the railway land was being grabbed by political and influential figures, which would be retrieved soon. He said that 28 damaged locomotives had been repaired at the railways workshop. The minister said that the Pakistan Railways could be made a profitable institution by running the goods train. He said that after taking over the ministry, the Pakistan Railways had earned additional profit of Rs 702 million.

He categorically stated that the railway could not afford to connect the Multan dry port by railway track from its own resources and the private sector would have to come forward for the project. He said that the railways sports budget would be raised to Rs 3 billion in the next financial year.

Later, the minister inaugurated the Lahore-bound Multan Express. Speaking on the occasion, he said that the train was being introduced for 90 days on experimental basis. If failed to attract the commuters then it would be withdrawn, he added. He assured that a fastest train for Islamabad would be introduced from Multan.