Pakistan decides to commercialize Railway stations

ISLAMABAD: Caretaker Railways Minister Shahid Ashraf Tarar says steps are being taken to upgrade and commercialize railway stations to earn substantial revenue at large scale, ARY News reported.

He said this while chairing a meeting to review up-gradation and commercialization plan of Rawalpindi railway station in Islamabad today.

The Minister said railway stations will remain important commercial hubs in the future.

Shahid Ashraf Tarar said Rawalpindi Railway Station is being upgraded and its surroundings would make it commercially viable and help generate substantial revenues for all the stakeholders.

He said, besides improving passenger facilitation, the redeveloping of Rawalpindi Railway station can become a business hub.

Earlier, Pakistan Railways has started upgradation of five major railway stations across the country on modern lines to facilitate the passengers and help the department to generate more revenue.

According to a Railways official, the stations included Karachi, Lahore, Faisalabad, Peshawar and Quetta, while the department was taking other steps to improve the performance of Pakistan Railways and would provide maximum facilities to the masses.

“The purpose is to make them commercial hubs for business activities and facilitate the passengers,” an official in the Ministry of Railways told APP.

The official noted that the government has allocated Rs50 million in the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP), in last three years for the up-gradation and renovation of railway stations across the country.