Minister for Railways Senator Azam Khan Swati has said that Main Line-1 (ML-1) project is the backbone for the country’s economy. He said this while giving a detailed briefing to the National Assembly Standing Committee on Railways.
The meeting of the Standing Committee on Railways was held today under the Chairmanship of MNA Mr. Muhammad Moeen Wattoo in Islamabad to discuss the issues of the railways ministry.
Briefing the committee, the minister informed that the PSDP for the year 2022-23 approved projects of Rs. 46.2 billion with ongoing projects of Rs. 37.750 billion and Rs. 18.450 billion for new projects. He said that currently, Rs. 10 billion have been allocated for the development of the ML-1 project under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
He said a second line would be built and constructed with a budget of $11 billion, and soon a financing agreement would be finalized with the Chinese and other multi-donor funds. He also requested the committee to utilize their role in the completion of the ML-1 project and sought the help of the committee in the execution of PSDP projects of the railways and ML-1 project.
The committee showed its reservation about non-implementation of its recommendation regarding vacation of railways land through negotiation, perusing the court cases vigorously and through anti-encroachment campaigns. The members expressed their concern that delay in implementation of recommendations would result in financial losses to the Railways.
Divisional Superintendent Pakistan Railways, Lahore, informed the committee the condition of the railway tracks in his jurisdiction was laid many years ago and the regular maintenance is continued throughout the years from the maintenance funds. He further, informed that the condition of the track would be improved up to the mark after the execution of the ML-I project.
Regarding the incident of Tezgam Express, Pakistan Railways promised to provide compensation to the victims who were left out due to a shortage of legal documents. The representative further added that their case will be processed again through the insurance company and will be resolved within February 2022, as stated by the Federal Minister for Railways. However, Railways is unable to provide any compensation from its own funds as the summary was not approved by the Prime Minister of Pakistan.
Minister for Railways assured the committee that he had taken many steps in the light of the recommendations of the committee and improvement in the railways would be seen soon.
Besides the Minister for Railways, the meeting was attended by MNAs Bashir Khan, Sheikh Rashid Shafique, Tahir Iqbal, Aftab Jehangir, Nusrat Wahid, Engr. Sabir Hussain Kaim Khani, Ali Pervaiz, Muhammad Khan Daha, Pir Syed Fazal Ali Shah Jillani, Ramesh Lal, and MNA/Mover Asma Qadeer, whereas MNA Amjad Ali Khan attended the meeting virtually. The senior officers of the Ministry of Railways were also present in the meeting.
