RECENTLY, I travelled from Rohri to Shahdadpur on Hazara Express. There were four passengers without tickets. One boarded the train from Rohri and three from Padidan. Seats were vacant so they occupied them. Surprisingly, all four of them were policemen and were going to Shahdadpur for training.

Between Padidan and Nawabshah, a railway official came to check tickets. Instead of issuing tickets to them, he collected Rs500 from the passenger who had boarded from Rohri, and Rs300 from each of the three who had boarded from Padidan. The official did not even issue tickets. He simply put the money into his pocket, and moved on after ‘clarifying’ that he would ‘protect’ them only up to Shahdadpur, and that they would be travelling at their own risk beyond that. The passengers agreed.

At Nawabshah, the staff changed and a new ticket-checker came asking for tickets. The four passengers told him they had paid the money to the last ticket-checker, and that they were policemen going to Shahdadpur. This official left without saying a word. During the journey, I overheard them sharing their stories about how they used to pay just Rs200 on the way back from Shahdadpur, and sometimes they travelled without paying anything at all.

Every year Pakistan Railways reports financial losses. This is not because of operational costs, but because of the corruption within its ranks. If Pakistan Railways wants to remain sustainable, it should prioritise accountability, or should outsource the management of trains. But in its current form and practices, the department can never be profitable.

Arsalan Ali Mirani
Mirpur Mathelo

Published in Dawn, October 15th, 2026