Pakistan Railways is stepping up efforts to recover billions of rupees in outstanding land and service fees from both federal and provincial bodies. According to a ministry official, a myriad of departments owe approximately Rs. 8.75 billion for utilising the railways’ land and services.
The official broke down the outstanding amounts, stating that federal bodies, provincial agencies, and private organisations owe Pakistan Railways (PR) over Rs. 709 million, Rs. 1.98 billion, and Rs. 5.68 billion respectively.
In addition to the recovery efforts, the Ministry of Railways has made substantial progress in improving safety measures across the railway network. As per the official, out of 550 vulnerable unmanned level crossings identified by the department last year, 167 have been upgraded to manned level crossings. The funding for these upgrades came directly from the relevant provincial governments.
The official asserted that the present government, in collaboration with regional authorities, is actively engaged in upgrading unmanned and vulnerable railway level crossings nationwide. He clarified that unmanned level crossings within the Pakistan Railways network do not have gate leaves.
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Bringing further attention to the scale of the task, the official noted, “Across the entire railway network, there are a total of 1,565 unmanned level crossings. As per the current railway policy, the responsibility of upgrading any unmanned or manned level crossing falls on the road owning authority.”
