NAWABSHAH, April 13 Cancellation of several trains' stop at the Nawabshah railway station by the Pakistan Railways has created problems for businessmen and other commuters travelling to upcountry.

Reliable sources told Dawn that the Railways had decided to cancel the stop of Shalimar Express and Khyber Mail at the Nawabshah railway station.

They also said 35-up Faisalabad Express, known as Faisalabad Night Coach, as well as many other trains having a stop at Nawabshah had been permanently closed, and added that the decision had been taken due to shortage of bogies and for saving fuel expenses as the department was incurring huge financial losses.

The decision would severely affect hundreds of businessmen of Nawabshah and Sanghar districts, and the citizens travelling to Lahore and other places.

A senior railway official requesting anonymity said the decision had been taken due to shortage of bogies as in the aftermath of the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, many trains had been burnt.

When contacted, Divisional Superintendent Railways G.M. Qureshi said he did not know about the decision as he had not received the summer timetable yet.

He, however, said the department was suffering huge losses and they had no money to run the trains.

According to a Pakistan Railways advertisement published in various newspapers on April 5, trains including Shalimar Express and Khyber Mail would have no stop at Nawabshah as well as many other stations from April 15, to save fuel expenses. It also said Faisalabad Express was also being closed permanently due to cutting losses.

Nawabshah railway station is the second most-earning station of the Pakistan Railways in Sukkur Division.

Various trade unions have condemned this decision. Sarrafa and Zargaran Association Nawabshah President Haji Aslam Shaikh said they were shocked to know that the Railways had cancelled stop of such important trains.