January 13, 2008	Sunday	Muharram 03, 1429

ISLAMABAD, Jan 12: The government on Saturday resolved to restore the infrastructure of Pakistan Railways in three months.

The rail network had suffered severe damages during the riots following Benazir Bhutto’s assassination last month.

The federal government will bear the cost of repairing and replacing damaged tracks and other assets, Prime Minister Mohammedmian Soomro said at a meeting here.

Railways Minister Mansoor Tariq, who briefed the premier, later told a press conference that the railway losses had been revised downwards and now stood at Rs8 billion. An earlier estimate had put the losses in the region of Rs12 billion.

Interestingly, an official handout issued by the PM’s Secretariat put the losses at Rs6.5 billion. The minister said that during the riots, 17 locomotives had been destroyed and several others partially damaged.

Mr Tariq said he had informed the premier that the repair and replacement of damaged tracks and signalling system would take a year, but that he had been directed by Mr Soomro to ensure its completion in three months.

The minister said that six train services had been discontinued while 17 others had been temporarily suspended.

The prime minister, Tariq Mansoor said, had told the meeting that the riots had caused a damage of Rs6.5 billion.

The chairman of Pakistan Railways told the meeting that out of 263 passenger trains, 32 were not functioning while six out of 45 freight trains were non-functional. Of these, he added, 14 were on the main corridor while 18 were on branch lines.