LAHORE: Except for Karakorum Express, commuters opting to travel in AC Sleeper and business classes of all trains will be paying 17 to 57 percent less for three months, Minister for Railways Khwaja Saad Rafiq said yesterday.
The minimum fare for branch line trains has also been reduced to Rs20 from the present Rs35 per passenger per journey, Rafiq said at a news conference at the PR headquarters in Lahore.
A decision to grant the concession on train fares was taken after “fare rationalisation” and an increase in revenue, said the minister, who claimed that the daily deficit of the Railways had come down to around Rs90m from Rs100m some five weeks ago.
A number of special trains would be operated on the occasion of Eid Al Fitr, said Rafiq and added that punctuality of trains would be improved to 85 percent by the end of the year.
“Railways has yet to overcome shortage of locomotives and other rolling stock — coaches and wagons. We spend $50 for the daily repair and maintenance of a locomotive while $500 is utilised for the purpose the world over,” said the minister.
He said railways had got Rs1.57bn back from the Chinese firm that was to be used for procurement of 75 locomotives.
INTERNEWS
