SAHIWAL: The 151-year-old white building of the railway station constructed during the British era has been demolished to reconstruct a new one.

Federal Railways Minister Khwaja Saad Rafique on Saturday laid foundation of the new railway station at Platform No 1.

An estimated Rs221 million will be spent on the construction of the new building that is said to be completed within 18 months.

The minister also assured locals that one of their longstanding demands of a business train stop would be fulfilled from June 1, but on a 90-day conditional basis.

“In case a train earns business and proposed revenue the stop will be converted into a permanent one after 90 days,” the minster added.

Rafique said railways was the main source of transportation, which had its strategic depth and importance. He claimed that when the department was handed over to the PML-N government its annual revenue was Rs18 billion.

“But now on June 30 its annual revenue is likely to reach Rs35 billion,” he added.

Provincial Minster for Ushr and Zakat Malik Nadeem Kamran presented a charter of demands. He demanded an underpass at the main railway crossing, permission for laying a sewerage line under the Lahore-Multan railway track, stoppages of Musa Pak Express and Business Express and increase in seat reservations quota and timing among different trains running from Peshawar to Karachi.

Minister Rafique accepted the demands for stopping Business Express and increasing reservation quota and train stoppage time. He claimed the Railways would issue an NOC for the construction of an underpass but it must be financed by the provincial government.

The minster defended Hasan and Husain Nawaz.

“I assure all PML-N workers that not a single penny has gone from Pakistan into Hasan and Husain Nawaz’s businesses abroad,” he added. He said the federal government had constituted an independent judicial commission that would bring the truth to light.

Published in Dawn, April 17th, 2016