Pakistan Railways earns Rs66 billion in FY2023-24

In the first nine months of the financial year 2023-24, Pakistan Railway has achieved a historic increase in its revenue as the earnings surged to Rs66 billion, ARY News reported on Friday.

According to CEO of Pakistan Railways Aamer Ali Baloch, Pakistan Railway witnessed an earning of Rs66 billion in the first 9 months of the financial year 2023-24.

Baloch hoped that earnings likely to reach Rs80 billion at the end of the current fiscal year. He also informed that 100 per cent bookings in the special trains have been completed and the PR has stored 1.5 million litres of diesel to ensure uninterrupted services during the Eid holidays.

“Things will get better after the launch of the ML1 project,” the CEO of PR added.

Last year in December, Pakistan Railways has significantly raised the Right of Way (ROW) charges for a single-track crossing to Rs3.8 million for five years which would help the department to generate more revenue.

Historically, Pakistan Railways charged Rs100,000 per track crossing for 10 years when telecom operators installed fiber broadband, the state news agency reported.

In 2007, they said the charges were increased to Rs2.7 million for five years, as the use of fiber broadband expanded.

However, in 2022, the PTI-led government reduced the crossing charges to Rs600,000 per crossing for a lifetime to promote fiber broadband.

They said that in contrast, cable TV operators continue to pay only Rs100 per year.