ISLAMABAD, Aug 27 (APP):Pakistan Railways has generated revenue worth Rs 5,269,315 through utilizing its 23 salons and inspection coaches for commercial purposes, during the last three years.

“At present, Pakistan Railways has only 23 salons and inspection coaches with different dignitaries of the country who are entitled to use these salons when needed,” an official in the Ministry of Railways told APP.

Giving the details, he said, “Two highly luxurious coaches have been allocated for the Prime Minister’s Secretariat while four coaches have been allocated for the Minister for Railways, Secretary/Chairman of Railways, and another senior official in the ministry.”

The official said, “Only one salon has been allocated to the federal government while one each has been allocated to the Governors of Sindh, Balochistan, Punjab, and the provincial governments.”

In addition, eight salons had been allocated for the Railway Headquarters Lahore, in which one each would be marked to Chief Executive Officer/General Manager (BS-22), Additional General Manager BS-21, Inspector General Railway Police, Federal Government Inspector, and four salons were allocated for Principal Officers, he added.

The official said six salons had been allocated for Divisional Superintendents of Peshawar, Rawalpindi, Quetta, Sukkur, Lahore, and Karachi.

He said that the Principal Officers of Pakistan Railways were entitled to travel at these salons or inspection coaches only when they were travelling on duty.

Above all, they said luxury salons were also available for private travel on a rental basis.

The official said the salons were very luxurious and had two rooms, a bath, a dining area, and a kitchen like a tiny house on wheels with the availability of every facility.

He said some of these salons were inspection coaches and their back wall was made of glass from where officers could view the track and surrounding area.

“Pakistan Railways officers are not entitled to use this facility other than duty and all these salons are mostly 40-50 years old,” he added.

ISLAMABAD, Aug 27 (APP):Pakistan Railways is expediting the efforts to complete the rehabilitation work of a 33.50-kilometre track ‘through sleeper renewal’ between Quetta-Bostan and Quetta-Chaman section at the earliest.

“The track will not only facilitate the passengers and small businessmen but also connect three major cities of the Balochistan province,” an official source in the Ministry of Railways told APP.

He said the railway network in Balochistan province mainly consisted of Quetta Division having Dera Allah Yar Sibi-Quetta, Quetta-Chaman, Sibi-Khost, Spezend-Dalbandin-Taftan and Bostan-Zhob which were closed for the last 15 years.

The source said there were two passenger trains namely Jaffer Express (40Up, 39 Down) and Chaman Passenger (349Up, 350 Down) operating in Balochistan while no stations had been closed during the last 15 years in the Quetta division.

He said the overall length of the railway track in Balochistan was 1470.36 kilometres including the closed Bostan-Zhob section.

“Most of the track was more than one-hundred-year-old and on certain stretches, engineering speed restrictions have been imposed due to deferred maintenance and owing to resource constraints,” he said, adding that the routine maintenance of the track was being carried out with available resources.

To improve railway services in Balochistan, he said the department was taking several steps like approval of PC-I for the track’s rehabilitation and the rehabilitation of another 100-km track between Ahmedwal Dalbadin on the Quetta-Taftan section.

He said that 100-km rehabilitation of the track between Nokundi Kohi-Taftan on the Quetta-Taftan section while 160.024 kilometres of rehabilitation of the track between Bostan-Chaman on the Quetta-Chaman section would be carried out.

The source said the tourist train’s two trips had been started between Quetta-Bostan while the Bolan Mail passenger train would also be operational shortly to facilitate the passengers.

He said the establishment of Chaman Terminal in collaboration with the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and track renewal Sibi-Khost section was also in progress.

To control the deficit and earn more revenue, he said the department had introduced ‘RABTA’- a platform for the improvement of its financial conditions. Rabta was essentially an attempt to enhance customer facilitation via artificial intelligence.

Around 60 million passengers used Pakistan Railways annually, for which 40 per cent of the tickets were sold using an outdated process without any audit, he said.

To resolve this problem, Rabta allows customers to plan trips with the help of different options. Single interface customers can check train statuses, choose and purchase seats, book hotels, and order car rentals, meals, and refreshments.

He said Rabta also allowed passengers to lodge statuses during their journeys. They can book tickets through multiple platforms including mobile applications, websites, ticket agents, reservation officers, vending machines, and handheld devices, he added.

ISLAMABAD, Aug 27 (APP):Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) has made all necessary arrangements to manage dengue cases keeping in view the prevailing high-risk season of disease spread.

According to hospital sources, Executive Director of PIMS Prof. Dr Rana Imran Sikandar directed the hospital staff to ensure the implementation of the plan prepared to handle the dengue patients at the hospital.

Dr Rana said the hospital staff was put on high alert and he will personally supervise all preparations to prevent patients from any inconvenience in treatment.

Dr Rana assured that like in previous years, the hospital would provide the best medical care to dengue patients this year.

“The hospital is committed to serving the patients with full care and special steps have been taken in this regard,” sources added.