ISLAMABAD, Aug 22: The Pakistan Railways (PR) will install modern signalling equipment on its entire main network in a period of six years.

This was stated by the minister for railways, Ghous Bux Khan Mehr, on Friday while answering a point-of-order raised by MNA Farid Ahmad Paracha in the National Assembly session.

The railways minister said the signalling system would be installed on Rohri-Lodhran-Khanewal section (both via loop and chord) and Sahiwal-Shahdara Bagh section.

He said at present, about 58 per cent fleet of the locomotives on the system had become overage.

The minister said there was a need to replace about 300 of the locomotives. For this purpose, as many as 20 locomotives of 3,000 horsepower (HP) have been manufactured at Pakistan Locomotive Factory, Risalpur, at a cost of Rs180 million per locomotive, he added.

Fifteen diesel engine locomotives of Chinese origin will be imported in completely-built condition where as the remaining 54 locomotives will be assembled in the country, the minister said.

He said the PR was generally running its trains in loss on all branch lines, however, improvement would be made by introducing new Chinese coaches on the track.

The minister said planning was being done to improve the dilapidated condition of “Khushhal Khan Khattak Express” running from Peshawar to Karachi. The express will be overhauled in Carriage Factory, Islamabad, he added.—APP