LAHORE, Dec 27: The Pakistan Railway infrastructure wrecked during riots in Sindh following Benazir Bhutto’s assassination on Dec 27 last year, has not been fully restored yet, adding three to four hours in the travel time of passenger trains operating to and from Karachi to upcountry destinations.

Rioters had torched 35 locomotives, 139 coaches and 65 stations, damaged 36 bridges and 27 manned level crossings, uprooted signal and communication systems and tracks besides six tracks machines and cranes in the Karachi and Sukkur divisions of the railways, suspending all kinds of rail traffic to and from the Sindh capital.

The Karakoram Express was the first train that left Lahore station for Karachi on Jan 1 when rail service to the Sindh capital was partially restored after five-day suspension. Out of 263 passenger trains, 32 were not operating while six out of 45 freight trains were non-functional till Jan 12 this year. Of these, 14 were on the main corridor while 18 were on branch lines.

A preliminary estimate had put the losses in the region of Rs12 billion. The then minister for railways, Mansoor Tariq, had on Jan 12 revised the figure downwards to Rs8 billion. However, an official handout issued by the Prime Minister’s Secretariat the same evening put the losses at Rs6.5 billion.

The then prime minister, Mohammedmian Soomro, had also resolved at a meeting the same day to restore the infrastructure of Pakistan Railways in three months by bearing the cost of repairing and replacing damaged tracks and other assets. Later, the federal government decided to grant Rs6 billion to the Pakistan Railways in three years.

“Out of the Rs2 billion first instalment given by the government, the railways has so far finalised Rs3.325 million PC-1 for the restoration of destroyed signalling and telecommunication system, ordered spares worth Rs400 million for the rehabilitation of damaged locomotives while another Rs300 million tenders for the same purpose are under process,” a senior officer of the railways told this reporter on Friday.

Service of 10 passenger trains out of 32 suspended to and from Karachi soon after the riots could not be restored to date for want of coaches. With the adoption of 18th century paper line clear method because of a lack of signalling system on the 465-kilometre track in the Karachi and Sukkur divisions, trains have been consuming three to four additional hours to cover the distance.

“Instead of crossing a station by following the signal, driver or his assistant either halts or slows down train on every station to get a document, stating status of the track ahead, from the station master or his deputy to move further and the method is called PLC (paper line clear),” explained the railway officer.

He said the railways lost assets worth of Rs6,561 million in the last year riots after the assassination of PPP leader Benazir Bhutto. The repair cost of damaged locomotives was estimated at Rs600 million, communication and works at Rs3,352 million, signalling and telecommunication at Rs2,234 million, and civil engineering at Rs375 million.

“Out of the 35 locomotives affected during the riots, some 20 have been repaired and made operational while the remaining 15 are likely to be rehabilitated by June next year subject to delivery of spares we have ordered by May 2009,” maintained the officer.

He said of the 139 damaged air-conditioned and first-class sleeper coaches, power, brake and luggage wagons, some 87 had so far been repaired while another 52 could not be rehabilitated.