Transforming Railways into profitable entity, a top priority of government: Azam Swati

HYDERABAD: Federal Minister for Railways Muhammad Azam Khan Swati on Wednesday said that provision of the safest journey and transforming Pakistan Railways into a profit generating entity were his top policy objectives and all efforts were underway to double the revenue generation of the department.

He said this while talking to media persons at Hyderabad Railway station during his day long visit to multiple railways’ installations in Hyderabad and Kotri cities.

The railways’ minister inspected the track at Hyderabad station by motor trolley and was given a detailed presentation of the facilities, he visited.

The minister visited Carriage and Wagons workshop, spread over an area of 35 acres in Hyderabad and disbursed cheques having cumulative worth of Rs 1.42 million among 284 employees of workshop at Rs 5000 each over their marvelous performance in maintenance of wagons. The said workshop is an additional facility besides Moghulpura setup and contributes significantly in fitness of rolling stock for freight trains that otherwise would have been sent to Lahore at the expense of time and oil consumption.

The minister had a meeting with Hyderabad based federal and provincial legislators affiliated with Muttahida Qaumi Movement Pakistan (MQM-P) at Railways rest house. Issues pertaining to Railways in Hyderabad city were extensively discussed along with exploring their probable solutions.

The minister also visited Kotri railway station, Kotri Loco Shed, Sleeper factory later in the afternoon where he listened the complaints of employees also. He directed the relevant officers for resolving the matters at the earliest.

The minister was accompanied by AGM Infrastructure Asif Mateen Zaidi, AGM Mechanical Salman Sadiq, Chief Engineer Open Line Arshad Salam Khattak, Divisional Superintendent Karachi Muhammad Hanif Gul, Director General Property and Lands Hafeezullah and other officers of Pakistan Railways.