Pakistan Railways (PR) has decided to discontinue the special trains between Rawalpindi and Lahore due to a lack of passengers.
A PR official told ProPakistani that the minister of railways Saad Rafique, after learning about the lack of passengers, ordered to stop these trains. He learned that PR already runs three separate trains on that route, namely, Islamabad Express, Rawal Express, and Green Line.
The official added that the timings of the aforementioned three trains suited the passengers better and the two special trains were incurring losses due to the lack of passengers.
Although the fate of the special trains is uncertain, the PR official stated that they are likely permanently discontinued.
Minister of Railways Saad Rafique revealed recently that Pakistan Railways sustained a loss of Rs. 525 billion owing to the devastating monsoon season this year and the subsequent flood-related damages.
He made this revelation during a press conference at the Railways Headquarters in Lahore on Tuesday, appreciating the staff’s hard work to restore operations.
During a meeting before the press conference, the minister sought proposals to increase PR’s revenue. He commended the railway officials on the restoration of Karachi passenger train operations and the full occupancy of the Rehman Baba Express and Khyber Mail following the restoration.
He also discussed recovery options for the destroyed train tracks in the wake of floods.