Pakistan Railways is a Department of the Government of Pakistan
-
Upload
maheen-kasi -
Category
Documents
-
view
216 -
download
0
Transcript of Pakistan Railways is a Department of the Government of Pakistan
-
8/6/2019 Pakistan Railways is a Department of the Government of Pakistan
1/10
Pakistan Railways is a department of the Government of Pakistan (GOP). The network
has 7,791 route km, 559 stations and it has an annual revenue of around Rs.20 Billion
(2007-2008). Pakistan Railways came into existence under a different name on 13 May
1861, when Kotri and Karachi two stations 169 km. a part were linked by rail. In 1947, it
was named as Northwestern Railways, had 11,088 routes Km of which 3043 were
transferred to India. Leaving 8,045 Km to Pakistan. In 1961, it was named as Pakistan
Western Railway and in 1974 as Pakistan Railways.
Operational Structure
Ministry of Railway is responsible for overall control of Pakistan Railways as well as to
guide the overall policy. There are four (4) Directorates in this PR namely Administrative
Directorate, Technical Directorate, Planning Directorate, and Finance Directorate.
The following officers also report directly to the Secretary Railways:-
a. General Manager (Operations)
b. General Manager/Manufacture and Services
c. Federal Government Inspector of Railways
Railway Board is the highest body for technical matters of the Railways, Secretary,
Ministry of Railways is also ex-officio Chairman of the Railway Board.
Pakistan Railways at this time is a vertically integrated organization and has four
business units. Pakistan Railways is headed by a General Manager, who is the Chief
Executive Officer assisted by four Addl. General Managers, namely, Infrastructure
Business Unit, Passenger Business Unit, Freight Business Unit and Manufacturing and
Services Unit that looks after: Concrete Sleeper Factories, (CSF), and Carriage Factory.
Islamabad, (CFI), Locomotive Factory, Risalpur, Rehabilitation Project, Medical and
Health Service. Railway Construction Company (RAILCOP), Pakistan Railway Advisory
& Consultancy Services (PRACS) and Educational Facilities).
-
8/6/2019 Pakistan Railways is a Department of the Government of Pakistan
2/10
Human Resources
Pakistan Railways has about 90,000 employees consisting of staff and officers as of
2008). 71% of the total employees are working in Civil, Mechanical and Transportation
departments. All the hierarchy positions are held by graduate Engineers.
Organization
In the late 1990s, the Government of Pakistan considered selling the airline to the private
sector due to the persistent losses suffered by the airline.The general supervision and
management of affairs of Pakistan Railways is vested in the Railway Board, which has
been reconstituted. The new Railway Board consists of Chairman and five Members out
of which three are from the private sector. Secretary to the Government of Pakistan,
Ministry of Railways is the ex-officio Chairman of Railway Board and the General
Manager, Railways is the Chief Executive Officer. Organization Structure of Pakistan
Railways is of functional type, headed by GM and assisted by four Addl. General
Managers.
The New Organization Structure
This Organizational structure designed to create a commercial environment is now in the
process of implementationFinancial Performance of Pakistan Railways for 2006-07 and 2007-08:
Comparison between Revenue and Expenses:-
The total revenue of the Pakistan Railway in 2006-07 was 11,674 and the total
expenditure of the Pakistan railway was 22,556 and if we deduct revenue from the
expenditure we found that the net profit or loss was (10891).
2006-07 2007-08(in million Rupees)
-
8/6/2019 Pakistan Railways is a Department of the Government of Pakistan
3/10
A. Revenue
1. Total Revenue 11,674 11,346
B. Expenditure
1. Working expenses 20,268 21,916
2. Improvement & Welfare Expenses 269 249
3. Pensions 4,067 4,364
4. Depreciation 2,115 2,115
Surplus/defici t ( 7,527) (8,671)
Interest on Foreign loans 2,021 1,834
Interest on Over draft 1,343 1,961
Net Profit and Loss (10,891) (12,466)
-
8/6/2019 Pakistan Railways is a Department of the Government of Pakistan
4/10
PRESENT SITUATION OF PAKISTAN RAILWAYS AND ITS ASSETS.
It is now almost certain that the earlier plan to privatize Railways has been shelved by
the Military government which instead wants to revamp the system, rid it from
rampant corruption and control its losses. The federal government has reportedly
approved a rehabilitation plan to be launched under the control and supervision of the
Army.
One of the important policy decisions taken at the joint meeting of the National
Security Council and the Federal Cabinet, presided over by the Chief Executive,
General Pervez Musharraf, last week related to the revival of the defunct Railway
Board and its merger with the Ministry of Railways, which is now headed by a new
secretary, who is a retired Lieutenant General of the Army, who will simultaneously
hold charges as Chairman of the Railway Board. This decision seemingly marked areversal in the process of privatisation of Pakistan Railways which was initiated by
the previous government back in 1998 when on August 30, the 137-year old Pakistan
Railways was divided into three separate and independent units, each to be headed by
a Managing Director. The three units were described as the Infrastructure Unit,
Freight, Service Unit and Passenger Service unit, which have been operating
independently over the last one year and reports indicated that the Freight Unit had
registered some increase in its profit earnings during this period through better
utilization of the available number of wagons. Thus the entire process aimed at
privatization of the railways has come to a halt as a result of the latest cabinet
decision, indicating that the present government is giving preference to retention of
Pakistan Railways as a single entity in the public sector and that new efforts would be
directed towards the goal of making Pakistan Railways a viable and profit earning
concern.
Lt.Gen. Javed Ashraf Qazi, new Secretary of Railway Ministry and Chairman
Railway Board, while briefing the newsmen said that the objective of the Plan which
has been dully approved by the National Security and the Federal Cabinet at a joint
meeting held for this purpose include restructuring of railways emergency repair
measures, rehabilitation and modernization steps and reduction of debt burden on the
-
8/6/2019 Pakistan Railways is a Department of the Government of Pakistan
5/10
department. Lieutenant General Qazi regretted that PR hasan overdraft of Rs. 19 billion
for which the department is paying Rs. 3 billion interest annually. While the
operational deficit is Rs. 2.6 billion every year. As such, the total annual deficit
stands at Rs. 9 billion.
He said that with the approval of the federal cabinet, the Ministry of Railways has
constituted a committee to work out a strategy to deal with the surplus staff. Till then,
General Qazi said, no retrenchment would be made in the Pakistan Railways.
At present, non technical staffincluding clerks, workers and peonsare in surplus,
while the technical staff is insufficient. "We have chalked out a plan to train the non
technical staff and accommodate them in technical sections to overcome the
deficiency there. The three-month training programme would soon start in Lahore.
The railway department has been divided into two unitsoperations and technical.
These units will be headed by general managers. One will run the mail operation
while the other will look into the task of manufacturing and services. The task of the
general managers would be to work for the rehabilitation of the department and earn
money to revive its economic position.
It may be recalled that Pakistan Railways has been invariably reporting losses in its
operations during the last 52 years despite repeated efforts on the part of the various
governments in the past to inject dynamism, both administratively and financially, inits working, but all such efforts seemingly failed to produce the desired results. The
organization which is purely commercial in its functions has failed to bridge the gap
in its expenditure and income. In fact, the gap has been widening without any sign of
a change for the better. As a result, the federal government as the owner of the
railways, has to meet the large deficits from its meager financial resources. Instead of
fixing the dismal affairs in Pakistan Railways, the Zia-ul-Haq government had opted
for a quick fix by launching the National Logistic Cell through the Army resources,
instead of restructuring and downsizing the overstaffed monopoly.
It was due to the inefficiency in its working and constant deficit in its balance sheet
that the railways lost a substantial share in the freight and passenger movement
market of the country over the last five decades and consequently the privately ownedbus
services and trucking companies have been rapidly gaining ground in the
-
8/6/2019 Pakistan Railways is a Department of the Government of Pakistan
6/10
transport system.
As things stand, public confidence in the railways is at an all-time low. The Pakistan
Railways suffered a loss of over Rs. 6 billion in 1997-98 as compared to Rs. 1.8
billion in 1990-91. The spiralling losses are due to a number of factors, the principal
one being a progressive decline in the operational efficiency and reliability of its
passenger and freight services, to say nothing of convenience and comfort of travel.
As a result, there has been a sharp fall in passenger tarffic and freight transported over
the years and a rise in expenditures at the same time. The railways have been
neglected by successive governments which preferred to invest in road and air
transport instead. This neglect has had very far-reaching consequences. The travails of
train travellers are endless. From hassles in getting tickets, to the deplorable condition
of trains and the absence of any mechanism to check and rectify the manymalpractices, irregularities and deficiencies that afflict the whole of spectrum of train
travel.
As the army takes stock of the situation, a good idea would be to set up a committee
comprising experts from the field of railways to come up with a set of
recommendations of both short-and long-term nature so that the process of
revitalizing the railways can be started on a sound footing and in right earnest. Under
the ongoing restructuring process, the railways has already shut down over 200 train
routes out of a total of 324 and intends to sack 30,000 employees. To carry this
process through to its logical end calls for an unbending will, patience and
perseverance. The turnaround in the railways is imperative as this organization should
serve as the pivot of the national transport system and an arterial channel of economic
activity in the country. And it will got to the credit of the army if it is able to restore
the railways to its pristine position so that it plays its crucial role in the composite
sector of communications and economic activity
KarachiFederal Minister for Pakistan Railways (PR) Ghulam Ahmed Bilour
Sunday said Pakistan Railways was passing through a financial crunch and even
unable to pay salaries to the army of employees.
-
8/6/2019 Pakistan Railways is a Department of the Government of Pakistan
7/10
Talking to media persons here on Sunday, Bilour said that like others
departmentsPakistan Railways was also passing through era of hardships however despite
these
harsh facts all efforts were made to broaden the Railways network.
He said that during past eras Pakistan Railways were adversely neglected which led to
present situation however incumbent government was not disappointed and was
chalking out long termed strategies which would not only mend the past discrepancies
but would also develop the PR and it would be proved a beneficial department soon.
The Minister said that a request has been made to friend country China for
cooperation in development of Railways which has been accepted and a positive
response was hoped. In cooperation with China a dual track Railway track would be
laid between Khanjab-Islamabad and Karachi-Tourkham which would not only helpin easing the traveling between these areas but would also open new avenues of
development in trade and tourism.
He said that though lack of funds was creating hurdles in the way of development of
Railways but China and other countries would be consulted to resolve this problem.
Bilour claimed that railway departments across the globe except India Railways were
going in loss.
Transportation Sector including Railways
The domestic transportation system in Pakistan primarily comprises of the Road, Rail and
Air. The growing economy is imposing strains on the transport sector.
Road Sector
The total roads of all types are estimated at 258,350 kms. Of which high type roads are
176,587 km. and low type roads are 81,761 kms. The highest density remains on the
Grand Trunk Road running from Peshawar to Karachi. The first segment of an alternate
motorway form Islamabad to Lahore and Islamabad to Peshawar has been completed.
With other sections to be constructed shortly. The national highway carries 96 percent of
the freight and 91 percent of passenger traffic.
Railway Sector
-
8/6/2019 Pakistan Railways is a Department of the Government of Pakistan
8/10
Railway sector in Pakistan has not maintained its position in the transport sector. The
market share of Pakistan Railways kept on declining with the passage of time. For
example, annual passenger volume carried by Pakistan Railways in late 1970s was
approx. 145 million, which has come down to 59 million in 1992/93. The freight business
was of PR was 15 million tons in late 1960s but has come down to 7 million tons. Roads
have steadily become the more preferred form of transportation. An example of PRs
declining market share is that it is moving only 11% of total petroleum products and 2%
of the total containers. A more professionally managed and independent railways have
immense growth potential.
Air Sector
Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), the national carrier, is carrying the bulk of the air
travel services within the country. With deregulation of the air sector in the 90s, three
other private airlines have entered the domestic market and international market.
Regulatory Environment
The Railway Regulatory Framework is now under preparation.
The broad objectives of the proposed Regulatory Policy are:
To regulate the establishment, working, and provision of railway services in
Pakistan
To promote and protect the interests of users of railway services To promote competition in the provision of railway services
To encourage investment in railway infrastructure and rolling stock by the private
sector and
To promote efficiency and economy in the provision of railway services To resolve disputes arising in the industry.
The Regulator is expected to have three major functions:
-
8/6/2019 Pakistan Railways is a Department of the Government of Pakistan
9/10
Overseeing the rules and conditions establishing access to infrastructure and
approving access contracts
Licensing private train operations and resolving disputes of regulatory nature
Managing Public Service Obligations for the Military and other Passenger traffic.
Current Status The unbundling of Pakistan Railways into core business units (Infrastructure,
Freight and Passenger) is under process
Managing Directors (MD) for the three core business units Infrastructure, Freight
and Passenger have been appointed.
A notification for the operation of the core business units and delegation of
powers to the MDs has been issued. Operation of the three units has commenced
from September 1998. Accounting separation and segregation of assets is being formalised.
Non-core assets will be evaluated and prepared to be sold through open auction. Regulatory environment is being established.
The Likely Offer
Sale/Concession of three core business units of Pakistan Railways (PR) i.e. Infrastructure,Freight and Passenger units
Non-core units: Locomotive factory, Sleeper factories, Carriage Factory etc.
Railway land and other properties.
Transfer of Ancillary facilities.
Development of PR properties (e.g. Railway Stations in major cities)
Equipment/sections for preservation of Railway heritage.
Key Contacts
Director General
Privatisation Commission
-
8/6/2019 Pakistan Railways is a Department of the Government of Pakistan
10/10
5-A Constitution Avenue
EAC Building
Islamabad Pakistan
Telephone: (92-51)
920 5369 Facsimile : (92-
51) 920 3076,
(92-51) 921 1692
Email: [email protected]
.pk
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]