PAKISTAN Railways is perhaps the only state-owned entity in the country that owns prime commercial and agricultural land worth billions of rupees and yet has no money to pay salaries and pensions or to run its operations. A report carried by this newspaper on Thursday reveals that PR has what in official jargon is known as ‘surplus’ land measuring some 0.14m kanals (17,625 acres) worth over Rs66bn at current market prices. This is in addition to the property being illegally occupied by various federal and provincial departments and agencies, the military, and private persons in different parts of the country, and that is generating massive revenues for land-grabbers at PR’s expense. The fact that PR management does not have any plan to leverage this huge asset for generating funds to overcome its growing financial problems speaks volumes for its incompetence and disinterest. Little wonder then that Railways has run up an overdraft of more than Rs42bn over the past several years and is still looking towards the government for a financial package to bail it out of the current crisis that has brought its operations to a grinding halt. The government, which is already facing a severe financial crunch, has so far resisted the demand and instead has chosen to help PR arrange a loan of Rs6.1bn through a consortium of commercial banks for the repair of its locomotives.

It is estimated that Railways management can generate sufficient funds to meet its liabilities, pay salaries and pensions on time, and undertake development for expanding its operations if it decides to use this land for commercial projects and ventures in partnership with private investors. The investors should have no hesitation in joining Railways in undertaking commercial ventures provided they are assured of the protection of their investments and a reasonable rate of return. The launch next month of a ‘business train’ running between Lahore and Karachi is just one small example of PR’s partnership with the private sector that is expected to bring in Rs1.5bn a year.