LAHORE, June 5: Acute shortage of locomotives forced the Pakistan Railways administration to temporarily suspend on Tuesday the operation of two more passenger trains --Karachi Express and Rohi Express -- increasing the number (of suspended trains) to a record 128.

The freight service of railways has already been suspended for want of locomotives as just 76 passenger trains are in operation, says an officer of PR’s commercial branch at its headquarters in Lahore.

Karachi Express (15-Up/16-Down) used to run between Karachi and Lahore while Rohi Express (167-Up/168-Down) between Sukkur and Khanpur.

Out of a fleet of 520 diesel and electricity-run locomotives, only 76 were operational on Tuesday, said the officer.

“We require at least 150 locomotives to operate all 204 passenger trains. Of the out-of-order locomotives, 46 require repairs on a small scale and will be made operational within a week or so after the Rs600 million are released for the purpose. Locomotives in need of overhaul or repairs on a large scale require Rs50 million each,” said the officer who sought anonymity.

Frequent failures of available locomotives have made it difficult to maintain credible operations and punctuality of all passenger and freight trains, resulting in daily protests by commuters and deteriorating financial health of the railways. — Staff Reporter