LAHORE: Facing a severe financial crisis since March this year, the Pakistan Railways (PR) may not be able to pay salaries and pension in the next couple of months if the situation persists.

Although lockdown restrictions are over, the number of passenger trains in operation has been halved. And no improvement in trains operation is in sight as the number of passengers has come down drastically.

The situation has even forced the authorities to cancel departure of trains from time to time due to less number of passengers from Lahore and other major railway stations during the last couple of weeks.

“The PR has almost lost 50 per cent of its total revenue during the last three months or so, as the number of passengers is continuously decreasing due to the coronavirus fear factor, disturbance in trains’ arrival/departure schedule, derailments/accidents, etc,” an official source told Dawn on Thursday.

The official said that during the last three months the PR earned Rs8.1 billion against a target of about Rs16bn, which clearly showed a trend of massive revenue decline.

Drastic decline in number of passengers forces cancellation of trains

“From March 25 to May 19, there was no revenue because of suspension of passenger and freight train operations due to Covid-19 lockdowns across the country. From May 20, the PR resumed a limited operation with 15 trains, which was later increased to 30 trains a day. Before the lockdown, the PR operated 70 passenger trains,” he said.

Because the 30 trains in operation at present are not attracting enough passengers, the authorities are not in a position to fully restore the operations. “If this situation continues for next couple of months, the PR may not be in position to even pay monthly salaries and pension,” he warned.

According to PR Chairman Dr Habibur Rehman Gilani, the reasons behind the crisis include suspension of passenger and freight trains due to the Covid-19 lockdowns, resumption of a limited operation and reduction in number of passengers.

“We may face a gap of about Rs6bn between revenue and expenditure by the end of ongoing fiscal year. But at the same time we hope that the contribution from the freight sector would enable us to squeeze this gap gradually,” he explained.

Mr Gilani said the PR, in view of the prevailing financial crisis, has decided to seek help from the federal government in paying pensions of the retired employees.

“We have prepared a summary that is currently being examined by the ministry. Through this summary, the PR will be requesting the government to provide funds for clearing the pensions and gratuities of the retired or retiring employees. We are requesting the government, through this summary, to also make a pension fund,” he added. The number of PR pensioners is over 70,000.

Another factor which is believed to be causing a decline in the number of PR passengers is said to be the expansion in the network of highways that have drastically reduced the travel time between major cities in the country.

Most of the trains take up to 20 hours to travel from Lahore to Karachi whereas air-conditioned coaches and buses take around 14 hours for the same journey.

Similarly, travel time from Karachi to Islamabad, Faisalabad, Multan, Peshawar and other upcountry destinations has come down mainly after the opening of the 400-kilometre-long Multan-Sukkur motorway. Once the 300km Sukkur-Hyderabad section of the motorway is built (though it will take time), travel time by road will come down further by up to three hours.

Moreover, frequent train accidents in the last two years, including those occurring at the level crossings for various reasons, have turned passengers away.

Commenting on the situation, PR’s Divisional Superintendent (Lahore) Amir Nisar Chaudhry said the number of passengers had not only decreased in trains but also in buses and planes due to the Covid-19 fear factor.

He said the PR’s Lahore division had cancelled some trains due to less number of passengers. In such a situation, the authorities accommodate/adjust passengers in other trains, Mr Chaudhry said.

The PR authorities on Thursday cancelled departure of the Karachi Express from Lahore to Karachi due to less number of passengers. According to a statement issued by Divisional Commercial Officer Shireen Hina Asghar, the PR adjusted passengers of Karachi Express in other trains.

Published in Dawn, October 10th, 2020