ISLAMABAD, Dec 1: Pakistan Railways (PR) will spend over Rs60 billion under a phased programme to upgrade and modernize the network in next ten years.

This was stated by Minister for Railways and Communications Lt-Gen (Rtd) Javed Ashraf Qazi in an interview here on Saturday.

The minister said out of this amount, Rs6 billion would be utilized in the current financial year on replacement of old track and sleepers and refurbishing of passenger coaches, besides improvement of platforms and face- lifting of different stations.

Mr Qazi said between 200-300-kilometre long track would be replaced by June next. He said work was in full swing and some 100-kilometre track had already been replaced. He said a total of 3,000-kilometre track needed to be replaced on the main line to remove speed restrictions. He said the track replacement work would take five to six years to complete.

He said a plan for electrification of railways from Khanewal to Lodhran had been prepared but it was put on the hold due to shortage of funds. Work on this project would be taken in hand after about two years.

He said work on refurbishing of rail coaches was in progress and so far 350 of the total 1,200 coaches had been renovated. The entire job would be completed in about five years, the minister added.

Mr Qazi said under a contract, China would provide about 175 coaches and 70 locomotives at a cost of 188 million US dollars. He said 15 per cent of the cost would be met by Pakistan Railways while the remaining would be provided by China under supplier credit basis. The first consignment of 15 locomotives and 45 coaches would arrive early next year.

When asked as to why Pakistan was importing coaches from China when it was itself manufacturing the same, he said the coach building technology of the Pakistan Railways was old and was not compatible with the modern standards.

Mr Qazi said the import of locomotives and coaches would help transfer of technology and new design from China to Pakistan. China would supply all locomotives and coaches in three years.— APP