Due to the devastating floods last year, the train traffic on the main section of Peshawar, Lahore and Karachi was stopped for several weeks, during which the railways suffered an estimated loss of more than 15 billion rupees. 

After the flood water receded, the train service was restored gradually, but the highly profitable Awam Express is still closed.  It is reported that it will be restored next week. On the instructions of the Pakistan Railways, the Carriage Factory authorities have prepared 18 coaches for it. It consists of economy class and AC.  In 1973, the People's Party government started this train consisting of coaches for public convenience, which continued its journey without interruption until 2022.  In Pakistan, which has a population of 25 million, millions of local and international people travel daily. All over the world, rail is considered as the safest and cheapest means of transportation, but due to lack of proper attention in Pakistan, it has been a burden on the economy department for the past four decades. The network of lines spread across the country and the communication sector is suffering from destruction due to lack of financial resources.  This is the main reason for the accidents that happen every day. China-Pakistan Economic Corridor project. Reconstruction of railway infrastructure is also included.  The caretaker government is in contact with the Chinese authorities, but after the election, rapid progress is expected on the Economic Corridor Program, with the ML1 project requiring proper prioritization. before the global epidemic Corona, about 71 trains of passenger trains were running on the entire network of Pakistan Railways, but due to the epidemic, the train operation was suspended on March 2020. After that, Pakistan Railways was restoring train operations in a phased manner and so far 45 trains were restored across the network.  Due to the tireless efforts of the management, the punctuality ratio of passenger trains in Pakistan Railways improved by 74% last year. Punctuality of trains and concrete measures taken by the government have added more than 20 million passengers to the system which is a major proof of the success of the department. In the past, the punctuality of passenger trains was 40%, which reached 71% in the year 2017-18 On the other hand, the increasing train accidents in the country are matter of serious concern and needs to be taken notice of in comprehensive manner. The need of the hour is to take effective measures. Special attention should be given to implementing measures to prevent future incidents of this nature.   Investigative reports of some of the tragedies that happened at the gates, including major train accidents, are definitely compiled, but It would be good to pay more serious attention to the conclusions drawn from them and on the one hand the measures to prevent accidents should be more effective and on the other hand to make the various stages of travel easier for the passengers from the purchase of tickets.  However, it should not be overlooked that keeping the bogies in proper condition, timely repairing the broken doors of the toilets and eliminating the culture of malpractice and bribery at various stages is also the responsibility of the railway authorities. Transparency in the ticketing system is the biggest sign of the organization's reputation. While keeping in mind the timing of the trains, many problems of the passengers can be solved. It has to be kept in mind that the transport mafia considers the good performance of the railways against their interest and has damaged it and stopped a useful service like the Karachi Circular Railway. There is a need to be alert in this chapter. Meanwhile, successful use of modern technology is also being incorporated into its system. For instance, a successful experiment has been done using technology to detect presence of animal at tracks which will save the trains from accidents. The history of Pakistan Railways is full of accidents. One of the reasons for this is that the department often faces problems with people and animals crossing the line at the gates. To remedy this situation, a successful experiment has been carried out using modern technology, whereby the presence of an animal or transport on the railway line can be identified by the driver through infrared laser thermal imaging and timely braking can prevent the train from mishaps.  It may be recalled here that our railway system that is more than a century old and its network spread across the length of the country facilitates the travel of millions of train passengers. It was well maintained till the 1970s and the railway department was profitable. Gradually, due to political interference and bureaucratic snags, the department became a victim of lack of maintenance and losses due to the recruitment of non-technical staff.  However, currently the situation is what we may  call the dilapidated condition of the railway track and the old system as the main reason for the accidents that happen every day. According to reports, an accident occurs only when more than one reason accumulates, while one reason cannot cause the derailment of the vehicle or the accident. It is recognized that if the maintenance and repair work is done consistently and in a proper manner, there is no possibility of accidents. Rail ride is the common man's ride and in the current era of inflation it is no less than a blessing. The railway department is facing numerous problems but the authorities are trying to make it a profitable enterprise. Conquering the world's most difficult mountain ranges, including the Karakoram in the north of Pakistan, seems like an impossible challenge, but the ideal friend and great trading partner, the People's Republic of China, has taken the world by surprise by constructing several such projects. Which can be seen mentioned in the world records. According to a report, a plan to lay a 1860 km long railway line from Gwadar to Kashgar via Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad has been designed to connect Balochistan with China's Xinjiang province, which was proposed on the occasion of the inauguration of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor program in 2014. This state-of-the-art railway system is very attractive to global investors, including the proposed passenger train system, thus Turkey, Iran, Pakistan and China will emerge as the most efficient corridors for eastern and western countries. 

Published in The Daily National Courier, December, 21 2023

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