No more new trains, please

With Sheikh Rashid in the driving seat anything that could go wrong with Pakistan Railways seems to be going wrong. Not a day passes when somewhere in Pakistan there is no train accident or an incident of train derailment. Trains reaching their destinations much behind the scheduled timings; irregular seat occupancy and engines running out of fuel are no more a thing of the past; in fact it is order of the day. But Sheikh Sahib is least bothered about all this; he would like to launch one more train every second week - because this is what he believes fits in the cosmos of 'Naya Pakistan'. When told that Pakistan Railways is too old and tired to aptly match his declarations, to quote a senior officer of his ministry, "the minister doesn't listen. He ignores ground realities and makes tall claims about running new trains and increasing revenues". In the last six months or so, about 30 new passenger and freight trains were launched. Given that the available wherewithal was not there for the new ventures the minister ordered to refurbish the existing rolling stock meant for use in emergencies. Resultantly, since his takeover there have been more train accidents and derailments than ever before in that short span of time. The latest near Hyderabad on Thursday where a passenger train rammed into a stationary goods train causing three deaths may be different from the previous accidents in some minor details but it does share the fact that the whole system is in urgent need of drastic upgradation and modernization that has not taken place. Since Imran Khan wants his ministers to deliver instantly, Sheikh Rashid started introducing new trains, a mindset that earned him the epithet of 'non-professional' in his very first meeting with senior staff of his ministry.
Pakistan Railways is lifeline of the country by catering to its needs for large-scale movement of freight as well as passengers. Founded in 1861 it is now the main source of travel, with nearly five million passengers a year. But it is no more as clean, secure, punctual and trouble-free as it was then and for some years after the British left. In fact, contrary to the role it was expected to play in the newly-created Pakistan, the railway system remained stuck in its old and now rusted groove. Sometimes the imported locomotives were fitted with used engines and at times the passenger coaches were too big to fit the platforms - because the powers who signed the purchases disregarded the inputs made by the experienced staff. Instead of adding to the number of passenger and freight trains Sheikh Rashid should have worked towards strengthening the existing operations, rehabilitating the track, procuring new coaches and filling up some 10,000 vacancies. Since most of the track is almost 150 years old it is worn out and no more compatible for any speed higher than the trains it was laid for. Hopefully, now when rail link is going to be the principal source of transportation for the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) some parts of the national track would be upgraded. Equally vital is the need to have adequately trained technical staff at all levels - for, even the Grade 1 staff is supposed to be a well-versed technician. But what to do when it is problematic even to conduct recruitment to fill the 10,000 Grade 1 to 5 vacancies. Strangely, if not intriguingly, applications were called for the vacancies and selection was done. But further action has been held up - because the cabinet decided to fill vacancies in Grade 1 to 5 through balloting - and earned mysterious smiles. To sum up, Sheikh Rashid would be well-advised to finish the task already at hand than to go for surreal play out of 'Naya Pakistan'.