KARACHI, Jan 18: Continuous improvement in railway operations has resulted in more people opting for travel by train. Railways Minister Shaikh Rashid Ahmad said this at the inauguration of the refurbished Ranpathani Bridge, some 80 kilometres from here, on Thursday.

He said owing to the damage caused to the bridge by monsoon, trains were running behind schedule. The problem would, however, stand resolved to a great extent with the reopening of this bridge, adding that the other bottlenecks would also be removed soon and all trains start running according to schedule by March.

He said 13 new train services, including the goods train service being launched at the same ceremony, had been introduced. Fares ranging from Rs600 to Rs2,200 for a journey between Karachi and Lahore had been fixed. “This has shown results as trains are now running at about 130 per cent capacity as against 70 per cent in the past,” he said.

Shaikh Rashid said that in order to discourage ticket-less passengers, a company associated with the Railways was being given the contract curb the menace. The company would be paid around 20 per cent of the fine it would recover.

Referring the rate of an average 100 people losing their life annually while crossing a railway track, he said that boundary walls would be erected along the tracks.

He also resolved that all encroached upon railway lands would be retrieved. Railways lands at prime locations would be commercialised to generate funds and meet the deficit.

Shaikh Rashid said that a new fast luxury train would be introduced on March 23 for Rawalpindi-Karachi sector. The first train will bring those who had participated in the Pakistan Movement from different areas on its route to Karachi where they will pay homage to the Father of the Nation Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah, he said.

The minister said that by December, work on doubling the track between Lahore and Karachi would be completed. He said that a new route – Dera Ismail Khan-Kohat-Bannu-Peshawar – was also being planned with the aim of reducing the travel time on Karachi–Peshawar sector by 300 kilometres.

Referring to the closure of Khokhrapar–Munabao route, he said the track on the Indian side was under repair. After the repairs, the first service to be resumed would be passenger train whereas the goods train would be introduced in the next phase. Earlier, chief of the Frontier Works Organisation Maj-General Asif Ali said Ranpathani Bridge had been reconstructed in three months at a cost of around Rs140 million. —Staff Reporter