MULTAN, June 23: Railways Minister Mian Shamim Haider has said arrangements are afoot to make Pakistan Railways a corporation within three months. He told journalists here on Thursday the PR would become a corporation soon after the passage of a bill in the National Assembly. He, however, said it would be a state-run corporation and there would be no retrenchment. “The organization is already understaffed as it is being run by 85,000 employees against the sanctioned strength of 95,000,” the minister said, adding “only indispensable recruitment will be made.

He said at present the focus was to make judicious use of resources and to offset the losses. The PR had not utilized Rs5 billion out of Rs12 billion subsidy provided by government.

The minister said the thrust now was on electrification of the system because diesel was proving too costly. “The PR has to bear an additional expenditure of Rs314 million this year on account of costlier diesel.”

He said the PR fares had not been raised to match its increased costs. “Fares in a few categories have been raised, but a majority of the passengers are not affected,” he claimed.

Moreover, he said, the maintenance cost of electric railway was almost half compared to the diesel-run trains’ while the former was also environment-friendly.

He said dualization of the carriageway from Sher Shah to Khanewal had been completed and it would now be extended to Raiwind at a cost of Rs5.7 billion.

About the locomotives imported from China, he said the engines of 2,000 Horse Power were functioning successfully while those of 3,000 HP imported from China had developed some problems and cracks had appeared in their bodies which had been repaired and the their warranty had also been increased from two to five years.

He said the case was referred to the National Accountability Bureau to see whether any kickbacks were involved in the deal. “Nothing, however, has been proved that may suggest irregularities,” the minister said.

He alleged that the issue was overplayed by some vested interests because some other players in the business could not digest booming Chinese economy.

He said the PR would have to revise its freight charges owing to ever-increasing oil prices in the international market. He said the rail link to Central Asia would be a fortunate thing for the country’s economy and the Afghanistan government had been approached in the regard. “Once the green signal is received the work on the project will be launched,” he said.

About train accidents, the minister said the percentage of such mishaps in Pakistan was negligible. He said, however, in recent years some miscreants in the tribal areas of the country were targeting the tracks but these acts of sabotage did not fall in the category of accidents.

The minister said the night-coach service between Multan and Karachi could be restored if found economically viable.