HYDERABAD, Aug 15: Pakistan Railways has refunded Rs7.7 million to passengers who cancelled their reservations in Karachi and Hyderabad and paid over Rs6.1 million for transporting passengers to and from Karachi since July 30 after a bridge between Ran Pathani and Dhabeji railway stations in Thatta district collpased.
A Karachi-based official of the railways told Dawn that Rs5.797 million had been refunded to passengers at the Karachi Cantt railway station in two days after the alternative tracks at Ran Pathani were damaged on Aug 13.
At the Hyderabad railway station, Rs2 million has been refunded to passengers since July 30.
But passengers continued to suffer because of delays in departure of trains.
Railway officials said that they had arranged food for passengers but serving all passengers individually was impossible. “Given the current situation, it would have been better if the PR authorities had announced that all Karachi-bound trains would terminate in Hyderabad, enabling us to handle the rush,” they said.
“From Hyderabad onwards, passengers should have been advised to hire their own transport for onward journey,” commented a railway official.
Bus operators took advantage of the situation by charging Rs150 per passenger for Karachi instead of the normal fare of Rs120.
Passengers returning from upcountry did not mind sitting on bus roofs and braving various hazards to reach Karachi as soon as possible, they said.
Since the Hyderabad railway station does not have a proper washing line for bogies, the railway officials are concerned about trains’ maintenance.
“We cannot delay train departures. Trains hardly stay here for more than an hour, instead of the normal duration of three to four hours, making it impossible for us to carry out proper maintenance. We are just ensuring bare minimum prerequisites to ensure a safe journey,” said another railway official.
Passengers complained that they were not being paid full bus fare to Karachi.
“We were given Rs80 per ticket for our journey to Karachi while the bus fare is Rs150. Why should I bear this additional burden?” said Javed Ahmed who had arrived from Rawalpindi by Burraq Express.
The Burraq Express was scheduled to arrive here at 8:10am but it reached at 5:30pm because there were only four tracks at the station and only a few trains could halt there.
Other trains are being stopped at Tando Adam, Pale Jani and other nearby stations.
Meanwhile, work on alternative routes between Ran Pathani and Dhabeji railway section continued on Tuesday and officials were optimistic that they would be ready by Wednesday.
“We hope that at least one of the alternative routes would be ready by Wednesday evening,” said PR Karachi division official Anzer Rizvi.
