Railways to spend Rs50mn on stations renovation

ISLAMABAD: The government has allocated Rs50 million in the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP), 2020-21 for the up-gradation and renovation of railway stations across the country.

The renovation of the railway stations had been approved by the Central Development Working Party (CDWP) in 2018 and the department had already upgraded six railway stations in different parts of the country, an official in the Ministry of Railways told the state-owned news agency.

Renovation work of Bahawalpur, Raiwind, Narowal, Okara, Sahiwal and Gujranwala station shave been completed while the upgradation works of the five railway stations including Hassan Abdal, Nakana Sahib, Peshawar Cantonment, Karachi Cantonment and Lahore were under progress and would be completed soon.

The official said the basic aim of the upgradation was to facilitate the passengers and improve the outlook and modernize the railway stations.

About the two major railway stations of Rawalpindi and Rohri, he said the tenders had been floated and under the process of final approval.

Read More: Railways inflicted Rs187bn losses on national kitty in 5 years, Senate told

He said, “Pakistan Railways is also planning to reconstruct 11 bridges and repair another 55 across the country to ensure the smooth operation of trains and safety of the passengers.”

Moreover, the Pakistan Railways (PR) inflicted losses to the tune of Rs187 billion on the national exchequer over the last five years, the Senate was informed on Wednesday.

According to statistics disclosed on the floor of the upper house of parliament, the railways posted the highest ever deficit of Rs50.15 billion during the last fiscal year (2019-20).