ISLAMABAD Jan 10: Federal Minister for Railways, Ghaus Bakhsh Mahar, has said that he had directed to start spadework on the proposed mass train system for Karachi Metropolitan in collaboration with foreign and local investors.

Talking to newsmen at Sindh House here on Friday evening he said that a plan to construct underpasses to replace the unmanned crossings had also been given the go-ahead.

Responding to a question with regard to the fate of the army officers inducted in Pakistan Railways, he said they would gradually be relieved of their duties; some of them have already completed their contracts and left. He thanked them for their good work.

The minister said that the chairman/secretary railways had been given a limited extension to help his succeeding staff get accustomed to the reforms carried out under his supervision.

To another question with regards to the illegally-occupied railway lands, the minister said, the provincial governments have been asked to hand over all such land in their use to Pakistan Railways by March 31.

When asked to justify the import/purchase of railway coaches from China when the same could have been built locally, he said: “The agreement with China was reached at a time when the country was fund-starved and no foreign assistance was being offered from any side”.

He said that coaches to be built locally, under the agreement with China, would cost less.

He also clarified the handing over of railways’ lands in Lahore and Faisalabad to private parties on lease by the outgoing minister.

The minister said that he had instructed the concerned authorities to ensure direct benefits to commuters by June.

He said that travel time between Rawalpindi-Lahore and Faisalabad-Lahore would be cut down from five hours to three hours, and from two-and-half hours to one hour respectively.

He also assured the journalists that they would be allowed concessional return tickets on the production of letters from their respective editors.