August 25, 2006	Friday	Rajab 29, 1427

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ISLAMABAD, Aug 24: The three-week-long disruption of train service between Karachi and other parts of the country had not only damaged Pakistan Railways economically but also posed a tough challenge of regaining passengers’ confidence, officials said.

The rail traffic was disrupted between after the Ran Pathani bridge, carrying the main rail track, was swept away after abnormal rains on July 30. Since then, only the Karachi division has refunded Rs18million to passengers against booking cancellations and there was no sign of restoration of the rail link.

The PR has yet to collect the exact figures from all its divisions, including Lahore and Peshawar, in connection with cancellation of bookings.

But the rush at bus terminals in various big cities of the country showed that the middle and low-income groups were now opting for modes of transportation other than trains. The number of Karachi-bound passengers had increased considerably, said a Rawalpindi-based transport union leader.

He said it was not only just the unending delays in rail travel which had frustrated the passengers, but they were more concerned about their personal safety. He said that after the monsoon rains, a large number of people preferred to travel by bus.

Mir Mohammad Khaskheli, divisional superintendent of the PR’s Karachi division, told Dawn that last year, Karachi railways had earned Rs2.936 billion by running passenger trains and Rs3billion by running cargo trains. He said the losses sustained by the Karachi division could not be less than that of refunding (Rs18million) it had made during the current crisis.

He said that the final figures were still being collected but in terms of passengers and cargo, the division could face an estimated loss between Rs100-150million.

Mr Khaskheli said that the cost of feeding a workforce of 1,500 men sent to rebuild the bridge and track was in the range between Rs80,000 and Rs90,000 (about Rs2 million had been spent since the bridge was washed away).

He said that the rebuilding of the Ran Pathani bridge would be completed by Thursday night and the rail link between Karachi and rest of the country would be completely restored by Friday morning.

He said that PR chairman Shakeel Durrani had ordered a thorough inspection of 14,000 railway bridges to avert similar incidents in future. He was certain that the railways would soon regain passengers’ confidence with improved services and said that passengers had stopped cancelling their bookings after the trains started using the alternative bridge. On average, he said six to seven trains supplied goods from Karachi to various destinations. After the restoration of rail link, the number of trains would be doubled.