LAHORE, July 18: Minister for Railways Haji Ghulam Ahmad Bilour has requested the superior judiciary to decide Chinese locomotives case on a priority basis to save the country's rail system from total collapse.

“I appeal to the judiciary to hear the case pertaining to 75 Chinese locomotives on a daily basis and decide it as soon as possible, considering it a national responsibility,” said Bilour at a news conference at the railways headquarters here on Monday.

Owing to litigation, he said, the railways had been paying Rs150,000 daily in fines to the Chinese company. “We can earn Rs25 million daily if we get the locomotives.”

The minister said the railways had funds to procure diesel for two days only because of the government's discriminatory treatment. The PR had been finding it difficult to pay salaries to its staff and pension to retired employees due to financial crunch.“Despite the passage of seven months or so, the government has not released even a single rupee out of the Rs11.5 billion bailout package. Out of the approved allocation of Rs13 billion for the last fiscal, we got only Rs3.5 billion.

According to the minister, the railways' earnings could only be increased by operating freight and passenger trains “but we do not have locomotives for the purpose. Out of the 520 available locomotives, some 155 are in working condition. We have only 12 locomotives for freight and 117 for passenger trains.”

He said some 3,000 wagons loaded with freight had been stationed at Karachi for want of locomotives. The PR could operate up to 40 freight trains daily if it got the required number of locomotives. “The PR deficit can be overcome if we get 400 locomotives.”

He regretted that a sum of Rs8 million had to be refunded to passengers at the Lahore Railway Station alone in a day owing to delayed arrival and departure of trains. Railways required a one-time financial injection but the finance minister and secretary concerned were not cooperating, he said.