Train travel has been and still is the most popular and cheapest option for us but on the other hand it is not as active as it used to be. At the time of the partition of India, a vast network of main and branch lines was laid as a whole. The irony of the situation is that over the course of 76 years, it has shrunk instead of expanding. 

Today, except for the main line from Peshawar to Karachi and Quetta to Karachi, there are very few sections that exist in their original condition, most of them have been closed and in some places people have even removed the railway tracks.

In 1960, 75% of commercial transport was carried out by railways. Then the government's priorities changed. Attention shifted away from the railway system and the strategy of laying a network of roads began to gain momentum. The truck mafia has a monopoly on freight. The railways began to go into disrepair. The additional burden of unnecessary recruitment increased and it was allegedly considered the most corrupt institution which became a burden on the country's economy instead of being profitable.

According to a report, during the period from December 1 to July 31, 2022, the loss of the railways was 977 billion rupees. Plans to improve its condition were discussed in every period, but to no avail, and the institution could not get out of the mire of loss.

In order to avoid further loss, it has been decided to outsource 16 major trains, including the remaining Karachi and North Mar Express, and for this, bids have been invited by January 30. Presently, Pakistan Railways has engines, bogies, equipment and other assets but unfortunately lacks the resources and strategy to operate them. It can only be hoped that the organization will be able to stand on its own feet with initiatives like outsourcing.

One may appeal to those at the helm of Railway affairs to make serious efforts to make Railway not only a profitable entity but also a safe journey which is need of the hour.

As a matter of fact, there are mixed reactions regarding the railway affairs in the county. On the one hand, new endeavours are made to connect the country through rest of the world through trains, while on the other hand, the Pak Railway is in the news for continuing train accidents in the country. It is to be mentioned here that train 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. To the extent that progress was made, recently Chinese experts have confirmed its feasibility and budget allocation for initial work.  In this regard, the feasibility of a mega project with a cost of 58 billion dollars has been developed under which the construction of the said railway line is part of the wider plan to restore the ancient Silk Road. According to construction experts, this project will help reduce the dependence on the traditional routes of Western countries, which will prove to be multilateral, including commercially connecting several regions of the world.

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. It should be noted that the ML-1 project of Karachi to Peshawar Railway is part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor Agreement, while the most difficult phase in the Gwadar and Kashgar program is the management and availability of the required funds, for which both governments can provide adequate incentives to investors.  In 2021, Pakistan, Iran, Istanbul freight train service was restarted after a 9-year hiatus. It is hoped that this service will promote trade in Pakistan, Iran and Turkey. This rail service between Pakistan, Iran and Turkey will cover a distance of 6500 thousand kilometers. This will speed up the transportation of goods. On the other hand, 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 have been 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. One more aspect of trains is the increasing train accidents in the country are matter of serious concern and needs to be taken notice of in comprehensive manner. Special attention should be given to implementing measures to prevent future incidents of this nature. During the previous regime, many people died due to the fire that broke out in the bogies. 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.

Published in The Daily National Courier, January, 17 2024

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