Pakistan Railways General Manager, Saeed Akhtar claimed here on Thursday that the backlog of pay and pensions of the railway employees will be cleared before Eid-ul-Azha after the payment of another two billion to be organised by the finance division.
Addressing a press conference at the railways headquarters, GM Railways said that the finance division has paid rupees one billion to the railways after which the organisation started paying salaries and also paid over Rs 220 million to Wapda.
GM Railways said that he met President Asif Ali Zardari in Islamabad and gave a detailed briefing to him on railways crisis. He said that the president made it clear that pays and pensions should be paid in any case. The president also advised the railways to increase their volume of traffic. GM railways also apprised the president about the negotiations underway with World Bank about restoration of the institution and parleys with the private parties to run trains.
He said that the railways would get another trench of rupees two billion on October 25 which would help clearing the backlog of pays and pension and payment to gas authorities before Eid. He said that he had proposed to the finance division that railways should get four billion per month as subsidy to run its affairs smoothly. However, it should immediately be paid Rs 20-30 billion as advance in six months for repair of locomotives as income of the railways could only be increased by bringing more locomotives on network.
Replying to various queries, he said that the railway administration allocated rupees three billion in the budget this year for locomotive repairs against the past tradition of keeping Rs 1.5 billion under this head. However, he said that this money was allocated for running locomotives while another Rs 800 million had been allocated for repair of another 41 locomotives. He hoped that from next two months, railways would start getting two locomotives per month.
He said that negotiations are also underway with banks for a loan of Rs 16 billion for repair of another 100 locomotives. Regarding freight sector, he said that negotiations had also been finalised with some private parties who would give rupees five billion to Pakistan Railways for repair of 100 locomotives, which would exclusively be used for freight business by these companies. He said that this loan would be adjusted in the freight charges.
He hoped that as a result of discussions with the World Bank a road map for restoration of railways would come forth by November 15. Meanwhile, railway labour unions once again staged protest at noon today due to non-payment of their salaries. Lahore division and Workshop labours held protest demonstration as federal minister for railways failed to fulfil his promise to release salaries of employees. Railway labours have staged sit-in in front of trains stood at washing line. Railway employees said that the protest would continue until their salaries would be released.