Federal Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique on Friday announced a 30 percent reduction in train fare on the occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr.
The railway’s minister made the declaration while talking at a press conference at Railway Headquarters in Lahore. “Railways will reduce fares by 30 percent during Eid days and from now on employees of Pakistan Railways will get salaries on time,” he announced, continuing that pensioners of Pak Railways would be given salaries on time as well.
He stated that the PTI government was unable to execute the mega ML-1 railway up-gradation project under the framework of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
“The ML-1 project was supposed to be completed in six years but has exceeded to nine years due to incompetence of former PTI government,” Rafique stated.
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Moreover, the minister made the announcement that the new coalition government will start the development work of the project as PTI failed to start work on ML-1.
Rafique promised the nation to put Pakistan Railway on track soon.
During the last tenure of the PMLN government, Khawaja Saad Rafique has previously served as Railways minister. Now he was sworn into Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s cabinet on April 19 and was given the ministry of the railways and aviation.
Meanwhile, after taking charge of the office, Railways Minister Saad Rafique on Wednesday made the announcement that the government has decided to restore Thal Express between Multan and Rawalpindi after a long hiatus of two years.
“It has been decided to restore the Thal Express (129-Up/130-Dn) running between Multan – Rawalpindi – Multan via Attock with effect from 21-04-2023,” the minister tweeted.
Addressing the inauguration ceremony of train branding held in Lahore, followed by a press conference, Saad Rafique said that railways and the corporate sector had entered into a collaboration based on a transparent and win-win situation.
“Without the cooperation of the corporate sector, it would be impossible to make Pakistan Railways a profitable entity,” the minister said.
