Pakistan Railways has always been performing quite unreliably when it comes to maintaining punctuality and quality of services. Its poor performance was further aggravated this year when Pakistan received the most devastating monsoon rain-storms last year.
Most regions of Sindh were worst affected as the floods have severely damaged the rail-road infrastructure and bridges. Even after six months of this catastrophe, today, the Train-track in many areas of the province are still inundated. Hence, the trains that are scheduled to travel between Karachi and Lahore within less than 20 hours, were taking up to 30 hours.
However, it was a relief to read a news-report published at the end of January 2023, where the Ministry of Railways’ Spokesperson had told the ‘Associated Press of Pakistan’ (APP) that: “The overall punctuality ratio of passenger and freight trains has improved from 63 to 80 percent. As the punctuality and facilities of our trains continue to improve, the number of passengers has also increased by over 20 million.”
This is great news for the millions of passengers who plan to take comfortable train-journeys across Pakistan in future. We also hope and pray that the distressed victims of the floods, who are still stranded and living in the flooded regions of Sindh, will also get some relief soon, as the government must urgently ensure their rehabilitation, providing them with a normal and healthy environment to live, so they can lead a progressive lifestyle too.
Kashif Arif
Karachi
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