ISLAMABAD: With almost half of serviceable locomotives and 55pc improvement in punctuality, the Pakistan Railways (PR) chairperson was confident on Wednesday that railways would achieve its peal< with the revival of its freight and cargo through China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

Th PR echairperson, Parveen Agha, during a briefing to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Wednesday expressed the hope that under the CPEC the old railway tracks would not only be upgraded but it would also enhance the freight business manifold.

She said the PR had already signed an agreement with the Chinese companies regarding transportation of coal from Karachi port to Sahiwal and Faisalabad where coal based power producing units will operate under the CPEC. The units may generate 1,320 megawatt electricity each and the coal transportation would bring Rs13 billion per annum to the railways.

She said that the railway has committed five special freight trains for transportation of coal.

When PAC chairman Syed Khursheed Ahmed Shah asked her whether the rail track is ready for the transportation of coal, Agha replied that at present there are 31 trains are on that track whereas it capacity is of 36 trains.

During the presentation, Agha told the PAC that in 1999, there were 596 locomotives with the PR whereas at present the number of railway engine was 440 out of which 280 were in workable condition.

She said that in 90s total employees of PR were 95,000 but now they are 76,019.

According to her, PR earned Rs36 billion revenue in last financial year against the target of Rs32 billion and disbursed Rs44.5 billion in term of pay and pensions. The deficit amount was paid by the federal government, she added.

The PR earned Rs22.5 billion revenue through freight business and Rs1.6 billion from leasing its land, she explained.

She said that the successive regimes ignored the PR and invested in improvement of road infrastructure that was why rail network could not be improved. The total budget of PR is about 4pc of the budget of National Highway Authority (NHA).

The PAC chairman said traders and businessmen wanted to transport goods especially oil through railways but due to limited number of cargo trains they used trucks which proved costly.