ISLAMABAD: The Punjab government has allocated Rs250 billion over the next three years for the Rawalpindi-Lahore fast train projectaimed at reducing the travel time between the two cities to two hours.
Speaking at a meet the press programme at National Press Club, Minister for Railways Hanif Abbasi: “Under this project, modern signaling and tracks will be laid. An additional Rs100 billion has also been set aside for the improvement of branch lines in other cities.”
Under the anti-encroachment campaign, more than 170 acres of railway land worth about Rs10 billion had been reclaimed by adopting the model announced by the chief minister of Punjab.
He said in the last 77 years, no province has invested in the railways, but under the leadership of Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, projects worth Rs350 billion have been started.
Says modern signaling, tracks will be laid to reduce travel time between two cities to two hours
Mr Abbasi said we recently defeated an enemy many times bigger than Pakistan, in which the entire nation played a role alongside the Pakistan Army.
“India has allocated Rs7 trillion for railways and Rs3 trillion for roads in its development budget. We also have to adopt the same model so that the pace of national development can be increased,” he said.
Due to the special attention of Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, great good news will soon come out in Pakistan Railways sector. Without the upgradation of railway tracks, coaches, braking system and ML 1, 2, 3, the dream of development is unfulfilled, he said.
The minister said that the government was going to run a suburban rail service in Punjab on eight routes – Shahdara-Narowal, Narowal-Sialkot, Lalamusa-Malikwal-Sargodha, Faisalabad-Chak Jhumra-Shahinabad, Shorkot-Jhang-Sargodha and Sheikhurpura-Jharanwala-Shorkot, Raiwind-Kasur-Pakpattan-Lodharan and Kot Addu-DG Khan-Kashmor.
He said the Punjab government had allocated Rs9 billion for level crossings and a green belt was being built from Shahdara to Kot Lakhpat.
Mr Abbasi said that efforts were being made to improve the railways. Major railway stations are being upgraded and ticket booking is being made easier through mobile apps. Moreover, Khushhal Khan Khattak Express had been restored, he added.
He said six hospitals and 14 schools and colleges of the railways were being outsourced along with golf and country clubs, rest houses and sleeper factories.
He said that there will be no tolerance regarding train timings, adding efforts were being made to improve the railway sector. Steps are also being taken to improve the railway tracks.
“We have introduced the facility of train hostesses. The quality of food and drinks at the railway stations has been improved and steps will be taken to increase the revenue of freight trains.”
He said solar panels were going to be installed at 355 stations while work had been completed in 155 railways stations. He said elevators and escalators will be installed at three major stations in Punjab, including Shahdara and Kot Lakhpat, adding only ticketholders will be allowed to enter the stations.
In Balochistan, he said a plan had been formulated to upgrade the railway line from Sariab to Kuchlak and introduce a shuttle service. He said a railway ground was being given to the Balochistan government for construction of an international stadium.
For Sindh, the minister said, consultations were underway with the provincial government for the restoration of branch lines.
He said all sports complexes in Rawalpindi and Lahore will be equipped with modern facilities. Railway teams will play in football grounds in Balochistan while a plan to rehabilitate the railway cricket ground in Lahore was also under consideration.
