LAHORE, Feb 27: The Pakistan Railways is contemplating to get its passengers insured, it is learnt. “The railways has suffered a loss of over Rs85,049,000 (Rs85.049 million) because of train accidents which have been on the rise since 2003,” sources said on Monday.

Nine railway employees were among the 225 people killed while 399 were injured in 382 trains’ collisions, derailments and accidents at unmanned level crossings on PR network from Jan 1, 2003 to Dec 31, 2005.

The number of accidents was 112 in 2003 on the PR network, the figure rose to 123 the following year and 147 last year.

Payment of compensation to victims was also widening the gap between the budgetary targets and the accumulated income of the organisation, they said.

“The railways board executive committee will meet here on Wednesday (tomorrow) to discuss, among other things, insurance plans submitted by some companies in this behalf,” they said.

To be presided over by Railways Board chairman Shakil Durrani, the meeting at the PR headquarters in Lahore has an 11-item agenda.

“Four items on the agenda are about train stoppages while affiliation of the Cairns Hospital, Lahore, with some medical college of repute, leasing out of the Sleeper Factory at Sukkur, and fate of the educational institutions over the PR network are also likely to be taken up at the meeting,” they said.

The re-establishment of research and development cell at the PR Academy at Walton, sources said, has been on the agenda of the committee since August last year.