11.1-bn-rupee bailout package insufficient for multibillion loss-stricken Pak Railways

March 22nd, 2011 - 2:42 pm ICT by ANI  

Islamabad, Mar 22(ANI): The Pakistan Railways is set to get a hefty 11.1-billion-rupee bailout package to improve its current situation, but insiders believe that this amount would be nothing more than peanuts before the multibillion losses faced by the organisation.

“The bailout package will help PR a lot to run the system as a great number of locomotives are in a dire need to get repaired and some part of tracks also demand repair,” The Nation quoted Railways Secretary Shahid Hussain Raja, as saying.

However, the Pakistan Railways (PR) is not able to clear its outstanding dues to the Pakistan State Oil (PSO) due to serious financial crisis, he added.

Replying to a question, Raja said that the Pakistan Railways had suffered losses worth billions of rupees due to last year’s floods in the country, but it repaired and rehabilitated its infrastructure with its own resources.

Official sources in the Railways Ministry said that the approximate daily expenditure of the organization was 2.5 billion rupees whereas its daily earnings were estimated around 1.5 to 1.7 billion rupees.

The Pakistan Railways is in dire need to arrange money for 250 non-operational locomotives to make them functional, the ministry sources said.

So far around 4000 wagons are waiting for locomotives, and with the revival of 250 non-operational locomotives, the ailing organisation running into deficit may be stable for some time, they added. (ANI)

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