Federal Minister for Railways, Ghous Baksh Mehr has said that Pakistan would become the hub of transport between the South Asia and Middle East in future, however, before attaining this stature, Pakistan Railways (PR) would have to improve it's services and bring it at par with the international standards.
He was addressing the opening ceremony of a seminar arranged by Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport. General Manager Railways Aurangzeb Khan presented the welcome address while Chairman Railway Board Khurshid Ahmed Khan, Secretary Railway Board Liaquat Arian and General Manager Manufacturing and Services Hamid Hassan also attended the seminar.
Mehr mentioned that Railways was still the most widely used and the cheapest mode of transport in Pakistan, which needed to be improved. It was a sad that Pakistan Railways in 1999 had come to a stage when proposal was floated to shut the entire system down, however, General Musharraf's regime had taken radical steps and this important transport sector saw a turn around.
"Now we are at a stage where we hope to become a transport hub and Railways would play a vital role in this regard," he added.
The objective of becoming the transport hub could only be achieved if Railways manage to improve its infrastructure, obtain state-of-the-art engines and high capacity coaches, initiation of new trains and connecting Gawadr coast with main railway line.
He said that the Railway staff was performing better than in the past, however, they would have to fix targets and make efforts for achieving them.
General Manager Railways, Aurangzeb Khan in his addresses pointed out that huge amounts were spent in the past on the projects, which were not necessary for the growth of Railways.
Had the management of the past spent the money on running electric trains between Karachi and Lahore, Railways would have been in a far better position then.
Appreciating the policies of President Musharraf which have helped in reviving Railways, he said that the annual passenger turn over had increased from 65 million to 72 million passengers and similarly, railways had registered significant growth in its cargo handling.
All those positive indicators could be supported by the fact that the Pakistan Railways' income had reached the figure of Rs 14 billion per annum.
He was of the view that if the government considered the suggestions put forward by the management, Railways would be able to earn Rs 25 billion per annum by the year 2011-12 after which this institution would become an independent entity and its dependence on aid from government would end.