Azam Khan Swati, the Minister of Railways, told the Senate Standing Committee on Railways on Monday that railway tracks were being upgraded on a war footing.
He said the prime minister had asked the necessary officials to submit PC-1 for the release of money after receiving a request for Rs23 billion to fix 473 kilometres of unsafe track.
According to the Prime Minister’s decision, the railway line between Tando Adam and Khanpur will be upgraded to allow trains to travel at a speed of 140 kilometres per hour.
Railway authorities told the Senate committee that a flaw in the rolling stock had been discovered, and that a thorough investigation had been ordered to determine the exact cause of the disaster.
Mr Swati admitted that the main line of the Sukkur division was not in good condition, but insisted that the Ghotki accident occurred at a location where the track was in excellent condition when Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed asked about the action taken in response to letters written by the divisional superintendent of railways in Sukkur about railway accidents.
The minister revealed that the government had failed to disburse Rs80 million to improve the condition of waggons, resulting in a loss of Rs1.09 billion. He claimed that the railway workshops were unable to repair coaches, despite the fact that Rs32 billion had been spent on the railway signal system. “I’ve brought this up with the chairman of the NAB. Hopefully, freight service income would skyrocket,” he predicted.
