PR to move Centre for partial start of passenger trains.

LAHORE -- The Pakistan Railways (PR) has decided to resubmit its proposal to the federal government for partial resumption of passenger train service before Eid.

It has also reached a consensus that increasing train accidents and derailment incidents cannot be controlled until removal of officers found responsible in inquiries, because removing drivers and assistants is just not enough.

'We were all set to resume passenger train operation partially by running 15 up/down trains across the country under coronavirus-related precautionary measures and SOP. But, we could not do so since some provinces (Punjab, Sindh and Balochistan) were not on board in this regard despite the fact we had support of the federal government,' Railways Minister Sheikh Rashid told journalists at his weekly press conference here at the PR's headquarters on Saturday.

'Within the next couple of days, we will again take up this issue with the federal government in a bid to get its approval for the resumption of train operations, keeping in view the growing public transport issues in the country,' he added.

He said the PR had 77,000 employees and 200,000 pensioners and there was no alternative source available to it to further pay their salaries and pensions.

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'We hope that we will be able to partially resume the operation before Eid,' he said.

Talking about the problem of electricity supply in the railway employees' colonies in Lahore and other divisions, he said the PR management had held a meeting with the federal secretary (power division) recently on this subject. The outcome of the meeting was that the railway colonies would soon have...