LAHORE: Increasing passenger and freight volume and land-lease have caused a significant jump in the overall income of the Pakistan Railways (PR) which earned a `record’ Rs66 billion in first nine months of the current fiscal.

In last fiscal year which ended on June 30, 2023, the PR total income was Rs63.5 billion. “We will surely achieve our official target of Rs80 billion by June 30 this year,” the PR Chief Executive Officer Amir Ali Baloch told Dawn on Friday.

“But the target I have fixed personally is Rs85 billion. Hope I will touch this figure,” he said.

Responding to a question, the CEO said at present the number of passengers travelling in all trains has (roughly) reached up to 25,000 passengers per day.To another question, he said the PR’s freight income has also increased considerably as 50 trains are in operation across the country. Likewise, he said the PR’s land-lease income has surged from Rs3 billion per annum to Rs5 billion this year.

He said passenger reservation ahead of Eid was almost 100 per cent.

According to a spokesman for the PR, the operations’ teams of the PR have decided to attach additional coaches with all trains in a bid to accommodate passengers seeking reservation to reach their native towns to celebrate Eid with their loved ones.

He said salary of all PR employees has also been released ahead of Eid.

river bridges: Minister for Communications and Works Malik Sohaib Ahmed Bharth has directed the authorities to ensure the repair, maintenance, and upgrade of eight temporary boat bridges over rivers in Punjab.

These bridges are temporarily made for six months or so (Sept 15 to April 15) and closed after April 15 to avert any untoward events in the monsoon.

“Start repairing these bridges by painting, installing lights, and upgrading infrastructures for the safe crossing of the people,” the minister said at a meeting here on Friday.

The minister directed the officers to install pontoons, signboards, and capacity boards, on the eight bridges.

Published in Dawn, April 6th, 2024