Need investors to run freight trains: Sheikh Rasheed

ISLAMABAD: Minister for Railways Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed on Tuesday said new freight trains were ready and the government needed big investors to run them, ARY News reported.

“The traders of Faisalabad, if they desire so, can bring their own trains. We have run 20 trains on our own,” Sheikh Rasheed said while talking to media.

He said Railways’ Rs35 billion went to pensions and Rs21 billion went to salaries. He said speed of a train was very much linked with track. If track was good then speed of the train would be good, he said.

“We are going to construct Main Line-I (ML-I) which will reduce the distance between Lahore and Karachi. We are also constructing an Orange Line train at the cost of Rs2 billion dollar,” he said.

In his message for Kashmir on the solidarity day, he saluted Kashmiris upon their struggle for freedom.

He said it was imperative to have strong economy for an independent foreign policy.

To a query, Sheikh Rasheed said he had reconciled with Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.

Earlier, he had said that it would be better for Bilawal to apologise for his indecorous comments about him.