[Updated] Pakistan Railways Imports Faulty Bogies For $149 Million After Checking Them For Two Weeks

Pakistan Railways (PR) has been talking about its plans to introduce new, high-tech, and high-speed passenger bogies, but there’s no point in importing them if they don’t even work.

The latest report from Express News reveals that these bogies were imported from China at a cost of $149 million and are unable to run.

The brakes on these bogies have a critical mechanical fault. Due to the lack of pressure, the brakes cannot function properly at any speed.

The report adds that the government had sent 88 Pakistan Railways (PR) officers to China to inspect the bogies. Why the department sent a small army to inspect these trains is anybody’s guess. However, despite a two-week visit, none could point out this critical mechanical fault.

It also stated that each officer that went to China, received $100 per day for their duties, which adds up to $123,200 or nearly Rs. 2.79 crore based on the current exchange rate. Keep in mind this is just a napkin math figure, the actual expenses may be much higher.

It seems the officers went on a joyride to China on government expenses and didn’t bother to actually do their jobs and inspect the trains.

Chief Mechanical Engineer Mohammad Haseeb said that there are some technical issues in the bogies that are being rectified and maintenance is being done to make the bogies fit to function again.

CEO of Pakistan Railways Salman Sadiq Shaikh has responded to this news, saying:

These passenger coaches are fully compatible with the system of Pakistan Railways. The new coaches were thoroughly inspected and de-processed after which they were cleared to run on trial basis. After successful trial, all coaches are now ready to run. We have got these bogies from an internationally renowned company through Transparent Competitive Bidding. The warranty period of these coaches is two years and they will operate for the first six months under the supervision of Chinese experts. The new coaches have been designed keeping in mind the International Railway Standards and International Standards of Safety. The agreement with the company also included a provision for transfer of technology, and this is the reason why our officers and other staff also went to China for training. After the training we are in a position to manufacture such coaches in Pakistan itself.