March 12, 2008	Wednesday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 3, 1429

ISLAMABAD, March 11: Pakistan Railway’s announcement last year that it would open reservation facilities in post offices was welcome news but has yet to be implemented.

Under an agreement signed last August by Pakistan Railway and Pakistan Post the venture was set to be launched on September 6, 2007.

It is learnt that lack of interest on the part of railway authorities is the main reason behind the delay in giving the initiative a practical shape.

Travel agents and railway franchises have also been using their influence to foil this plan as they fear it would hurt their own business interests.

Pakistan Post, on the other hand, is said to be keen on giving the initiative a practical shape. It has promised to provide its services at all the post offices throughout the country to railways to make the new project a success.

Both the railways and post office had agreed to make railway tickets available to people in areas as remote as Gilgit, Chitral and rural areas instead of physically going over to a railway station or reservation office to purchase tickets.

To begin with, the joint venture was to be launched at about 50 locations in 16 cities, to be extended to post offices across the country later. These 50 locations were to linked to the railways online reservation systems.

The new initiative was in line with the requirements of modern times and was meant to save time, money and avoid trouble.

Director General Pakistan Post Arshad Khan told Dawn the initiative would have greatly facilitated people, especially those living in remote areas.

Railway officials, including Secretary Ghiyasuddin, director operations Nasir Zaidi in the railways ministry and general manager Assad Saeed, chief commercial manager Masood Mirza at the Railways Headquarters in Lahore were contacted repeatedly to explain the hurdles in implementing the agreement but they declined to comment.