LAHORE, June 27: The Pakistan Railways needs not to be converted into a corporation if its present board is given autonomy, says State Minister Ishaq Khan Khakwani. “I am going to request the prime minister to give the idea to make railways a corporation a second thought. In countries like Pakistan, certain institutions should be kept intact,” Mr Khakwani told Dawn. The proposed corporation envisages a nine-member board of governors, three each from government, railways and the private sector. The railways secretary (or PR board chairman) will be the chairman of the BoG and appointed by the government. The general manager (operations) will be the chief executive and could be inducted either from the railways or the private sector.

“The World Bank thinks the present railways board members are not progressive in their mind set, but the fact is that they lack powers,” the minister said.

The railways board, he added, could not independently handle establishment and financial matters of the organization as these have to be referred to the Establishment Division and the Finance Ministry, respectively, the minister said.

“At present, the PR is quite autonomous in technical affairs but any new project has to be justified before the planning division.” With some autonomy in technical affairs, according to Mr Khakwani, the board has gone into operational surplus and has not taken the authorized borrowing this year.

“Given space, the present board can deliver,” he hoped.

The minister said running the railways was altogether different from operating a bus service. There were hardly a few experts in the private sector who could successfully operate the rail network, Mr Khakwani said.

“We have been part of the Indian Railways, which is now 10 to 12 times bigger than ours, exporting its goods to 52 states, providing consultancy services and even running rail networks in some countries. Why cant we do so?”

Railways, the minister regretted, could not have a ‘loyal’ secretary or chairman of its board during the last five years or so.

He argued that the PIA had been running into profit for the last three decades though during the period people at its helm of affairs had very little to do with the national carrier.

“If the PIA can have a chief executive from outside the organization why not the railways? Who is stopping the government from appointing a CEO of the railways from the private sector?,” he said.

“This is not a difference of opinion but evaluation of the idea in a different manner. It’s up to the decision-makers either to accept or reject my viewpoint. I’ll go by the decision whatever it will be,” he said.