Pakistan railways is recently facing the worst losses because of corrupt and incompetent elements in management. Railway stations are jam packed with passengers but all the trains are late. People have to wait some times as long as 8 to 18 hours before they can get to their train. Also there is no proper system to keep the passengers informed, as people with their families wait on railway stations, it turns into total chaos.
Railways management blames the losses and throws the responsibility off their shoulders. When the trains as well as railway stations are jam packed with passengers, trains are full over capacity, how on earth railway management can claim that they are going in losses.
Railway management also claims that unavailability of new locomotives (Railway Engines) and the bad situations of old ones is also responsible for bad situation. Now here again comes in the fault of the railway management, why they don’t get their available locomotives repaired, where goes the money which is took on daily bases from the passengers.
Place a side the passengers, now the employees of railways are also unhappy over the non payment of salaries. Recently in Lahore over 1000 of railways employees were involved in protests over the non payment of salaries. This made the railways situation from bad to worse, with unhappy employees how they can hope to function correctly.
The minister for railways Ghulam Ahmed Bilour also do not have any satisfying answer to the railways situation. Nor he came with any proper plan to revive the railways. Government as well does not seem involved in any serious effort to make the railways situation.
President Zardari recently just instructed the government to release funds to railways but no response on that yet came, so it seem an empty statement. Also Zardari instructed the Railways to arrange 6 billion Rs loan to fix the railways locomotives so things can go better.
Does Zardari lead Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) government have loan solution for every issue. This issue clearly have not been taken seriously on administration level by PPP lead government on other hand the people of Pakistan are suffering.
A person who have to go from one city to another via train and can’t afford to travel by other modes of transportation have to suffer while taking ticket, mostly they are told that reservations are already done, there is not seat to be reserved and then tickets are provided after taking the bribes. Then when he comes to travel with the family, they have to wait on railway stations for trains which are late from hours to days. At last when train is there, the journey of 22 to 24 hours is completed in nothing less than 6 to 7 days.
Additionally on stations as well as in trains there are no proper facilities for passengers, quality food is not available no other facility is in order.
For countries like India who share same kind of tracks and locomotives from same era as Pakistan, the railways is big source of revenue. Also many other countries like England have railways as major transportation system and they are earning much from it. But in Pakistan on contrast due to corruption and incompetence of management and authorities the railways is going in total loss and seem like it will not be able to serve back as it did in past any time soon. God bless this country.
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