Pakistan Railway, lapse, and scopes

The Federal Minister for Communication and Railways has commended the efforts of Railways Staff and management for record revenue earning of 41 billion rupees during the first half of the fiscal year 2023-24. According to the Minister, there is a 46 percent increase in revenue of Pakistan Railways in comparison to the same period of last year 2022-23.

As said, the total earned revenue consists of 24 billion rupees from passenger trains and 11.5 billion from freight services, wherein the remaining five billion have been earned through vendor contracts, private publicity campaigns through trains/ Railway stations, or rented properties in some parts of the country.
Railway is a mass transit system and acts as the backbone of the economy of a nation. A robust railway system plays a crucial role in transportation of goods contributing to the smooth functioning of supply chains and reducing transportation costs. It also plays an integral part in transportation of passengers, Infrastructure Development, Trade Facilitation, increasing Connectivity and Accessibility, along with facilitating Emergency and Disaster Response in affected areas during disasters and emergencies. At the same time, Railway is an important means for mass troop mobilization of the armed forces during peacetime and in war.

Historically, the role and importance of the Railway system in Supply chain development and mass transportation of cargo through freight trains has increased many folds in the modern age due to its high speed, safety, lower cost, and being eco-friendly as compared to road transport or cargo aircrafts. The Railway has about 30-40% share in cargo transportation in North America and Europe while it owes less than 4% in Pakistan which is very concerning as the thousands of cargo wagons are idle parked without any use at multiple railway stations.

Unfortunately, Pakistani authorities totally abandoned the Pakistan Railway cargo service which has been the major source of revenue, instead picking the passengers train and platform vanders to overcome fiscal depletion of their department. In fact, rebranding passenger trains, and renovating Platforms are less likely to bring any revolution in the Railway sector. The authorities must invest in the maintenance of railway infrastructure, repair railway engines and bogies to modernize the system and make them feasible for freight services that will generate bulk funds and reinvigorate the Railway department and national economy as well.