Railways plan to import 20 locomotives for hilly areas

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Railways is planning to import 20 light weight diesel locomotives particularly for hilly areas and Balochistan in order to facilitate the passengers.

“The main purpose of locomotives was to enhance the performance of transport sector of Railways and allowing them to traverse mountainous terrains with steep gradient tracks easily,” sources in the Ministry of Railways told APP.

They said modernizing rail transportation and improving regional connectivity are critical components of the ministry’s plan.

To a question, they said Railways has increased 1,460 passenger coaches and 16,085freight wagons during the last five due to dedicated efforts of the management and enhanced spending on up-gradation of coaches.

However, he said the position has been substantially improved as tangible steps have been taken by the management through allocation of additional funds for repair and up-gradation of coaches.

They said currently Railways had owned around 455 locomotives of different horse power and was operating as many as 110 passengers and 62 freight trains across the country.

The sources said Railways has inducted as many as 145 new locomotives in the fleet during last five years to facilitate the passengers and generate more revenue for the department.

To another question, they said Railways has decided to rehabilitate and modernize around 136 non-functional locomotives to improve the system and increase efficiency of the organization.