Railway authorities have reportedly reduced train fares from one kilometer to 200 kilometers following the decrease in price of diesel.
According to the notification, the fares of all classes of trains have been reduced.
Prices for economy class of some trains have been reduced by up to 54 per cent; whereas the AC class fares have been reduced by 40 per cent.
The minimum fare of the train railcar economy class running between Lahore to Rawalpindi route was 250 rupees, which has now been reduced to 100 rupees.
Similarly, the fare of Khyber Mail Train economy class from 1 km to 130 km was also Rs 250 which has been reduced to Rs 100.
The decision has been taken to facilitate passengers traveling in trains on short duration routes.
A mother in India risked her life to save her child from getting hit by a train. The video of the incident has gone viral.
According to Indian media, the incident happened in the state of Bihar where the mother risked her life to save her infant last week.
On Saturday, the woman and her children reached Bihar’s Barh Railway Station to board the Vikramshila Express to Delhi along with their family. A large group began to board the train and in a rush to get on, all three were pushed off the platform and fell on the tracks.
In the video, it can be seen that the mother is lying on the track on top of the child and the train passed over her, luckily not hitting her.
After the train passed, people picked up the woman and the child and made them sit on the platform.
With continuous hikes in petrol prices and dearth of good transport facilities that are comfortable, clean, and economically reasonable, travelling to another city within Pakistan can be a hassle.
We spoke to Omer Khan, a passenger who recently travelled from Lahore to Islamabad on the Green Line train.
Khan claims to have had a very pleasant experience.
In a four hour journey, he was served two samosas and “excellent” chai which can be ordered as many times as one wants.
Credit: Dawn
He said that there were only a few other passengers, probably owing to ticket price of Rs 3250 for one way. However, as Khan stated, it is still way cheaper than travelling from one’s own car as the petrol will now cost between Rs 25,000 to 30,000.
The seats are said to be comfortable and rotatable. Additionally, functional sockets with charging ports are available.
Most importantly, the train and its bathrooms are clean, and Khan hopes that the standard will be maintained because often times, the standard of facilities decline.
Green Line train was first inaugurated by Nawz Sharif in 2015, operating between Karachi and Islamabad. It reportedly only stops at main train stations.
In 2022, however, the train operation was suspended following floods that drowned train tracks. On November 28, 2022, China Railway Construction Corporation delivered 46 high-speed coaches to Pakistan Railways in accordance with an agreement signed in 2021.
This year in January, the-then Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif reinaugurated Green Line Express train service.
Travelling between Islamabad and Karachi, it starts its journey from Margalla station and stops at Rawalpindi, Chaklala, Lahore, Khanewal, Bahawalpur, Rohri, Hyderabad and Drug Road on the way.
A passenger coach plunged into a ravine near Lasbela, leaving at least 41 dead, Dawn has reported.
While confirming the event, Lasbela Assistant Commissioner Hamza Anjum told Dawn.com that the vehicle was going from Quetta to Karachi and had close to 48 passengers in it.
“Due to speeding, the coach crashed into the pillar of a bridge while taking a U-turn near Lasbela. The vehicle subsequently careened into a ravine and then caught fire,” he said.
He continued by saying that three people, including a mother and her child, had been saved and sent to the Civil Hospital in Lasbela. On the other hand, one of the injured people passed away from his wounds while en route to the hospital.
The officer added that the bodies had been sent to Karachi’s Edhi mortuary.
DNA testing will be used to identify the victims as the recovered remains were unidentifiable.
— الخطوط الحديدية السعودية | SAR (@SARSaudiRailway) January 1, 2023
Saudi Railways announced that 31 indigenous women have completed training to drive high-speed trains. The Mecca-Medina Haramain high-speed train is one of the fastest in the world.
Saudi woman, Sara Al Shehri said, “I and my colleagues have been the first to have the honor of running a high-speed train in the Middle East, which I am proud of.”
Noorah Hisham, another Saudi woman who completed the training, says that it is a job of great responsibility. The safety of those who come for Hajj, Umrah, and Ziarat is the responsibility of the Haramain Express driver.
Saudi female train driver Shajin al-Mursi said that it is a matter of great pride to be part of the first group to receive train driving training.
The Saudi Railway Company qualified more than 30 Saudi women as female drivers of the Haramain Express Train, according to Saudi Gazette.
The women train captains have expressed their pride in having this opportunity to become the first female train drivers in the Middle East. They confirmed that transporting pilgrims and visitors gives them motivation to work with great care.
About 115,000 Pakistan Railways (PR) retired employees who have not been verified have been receiving annual pensions totaling Rs35 billion, according to research by the government-funded Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE), a think tank housed within the Planning Commission.
It revealed in a statement yesterday that between 2015 and 2020, Pakistan Railways lost Rs144 billion. A deficit of Rs44 billion in 2020, which includes Rs36 billion for the pensions of 120,000 PR employees, is included in the losses, according to Dawn.
According to the PIDE report, the PR also received a subsidy from the government in 2020 worth Rs45 billion to make up for these losses.
Due to the intense competition from the road transportation industry and PR’s inability to implement a customer-centric business strategy due to a complicated bureaucratic structure, the public agency has been inefficient, underfunded, and overstaffed for the past 35 years, making losses.
The study also noted that 115,000 unverified PR retirees receive an annual pension of Rs35 billion. To solve the problem, a biometric verification system to confirm the pensioners in question has been proposed.
A Pay and Pension Commission (PPC) has also been established in this respect, and it will take into account issues pertaining to the railways and other public organizations.
The Ministry of Railways has decided to lower fares by up to 5 to 10 per cent as a result of the recent drop in the cost of petroleum products.
Samaa reports that Secretary of Railways Zafar Ranjha will preside over a meeting on Friday to review and announce the train fares.
Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif made an update to the discounted price schedule for petroleum products late on Thursday.
The price of diesel is reduced by Rs40.54 and that of petrol by Rs18.50 per liter beginning on July 15.
Khawaja Saad Rafique, the minister of railways, has given instructions to lower the train fare in light of the aforementioned discount.
Earlier, to assist travellers on the occasion of Eid-ul-Azha, Pakistan Railways also offered a 30 per cent discount on train tickets. A notice posted before Eid noted that all customers travelling by train during the three days of Eid-ul-Azha would be eligible for the reduced tickets.
To assist travellers on the occasion of Eid-ul-Azha, Pakistan Railways has offered a 30 per cent discount on train tickets.
A notice posted states that all customers travelling by train during the three days of Eid-ul-Azha would be eligible for the reduced tickets. The notification stated that the PR had begun accepting reservations for Eid at discounted rates.
In a separate announcement, Pakistan Railways stated that three special trains would run on the occasion of Eid-ul-Azha.
Before Eid-ul-Azha, three special trains would run on various routes, according to the PR department. A spokeswoman for the Railway stated that on July 8, the first special train would leave at 10 am. It would pass via Multan, Sahiwal, and Lahore from Quetta to Peshawar.
He added that the second special train would depart Karachi for Lahore at 6:45 pm on July 8 and take a route through Multan and Faisalabad.
On July 13 at 11:30 am, the third special train for Eid would depart from Lahore and travel via Faisalabad and Multan to arrive in Karachi.
On Wednesday, the Prime Minister’s Strategic Reforms Implementation Unit (SRIU) directed Pakistan Railways to tighten security protocols for the safety of ladies travelling by train, after a woman was gang raped by train staff while travelling from Multan to Karachi.
The following measures are being taken:
Safar Saheeli App
For the guidance of female passengers, a ‘Safar Saheli’ mobile app will be launched. It will have emergency phone numbers for women to call if they are in trouble.
Lady Railway Police Force (LRPF)
SRIU has also directed Pakistan railways to deploy a Lady Railway Police Force (LRPF) in trains to ensure the safety of female passengers. A lady sub-inspector and two lady constables will be deployed at the railway stations for long journeys.
Emergency ‘SOS’ buttons to be installed in all trains
On addition, SOS buttons will be installed in all trains to allow women to request assistance in the event of sexual harassment or a rape attempt.
Video Surveillance System (VSS) to be installed at vulnerable locations:
Video Surveillance System (VSS) will be installed at ‘vulnerable railway stations’. In addition, two CCTV cameras, one in each bogie and corridor will be installed.
Face Recognition Camera (FRS) App
A Face Recognition Camera (FRS) App would also be created to track down criminals and check their criminal history.
On May 27, a woman was gang-raped by train workers while travelling from Multan to Karachi on the Bahauddin Zakariya Express. According to details, the victim was raped by three men.
Pakistan Railways announced on Monday that it will run two Eid special trains from Karachi to Peshawar and Lahore on April 29 and April 30, respectively, for commuter convenience during Eid-ul-Fitr.
One special train would depart from Karachi to Lahore and the other from Karachi to Peshawar, according to railway authorities at the Karachi Division’s Divisional Superintendent office.
First Train – Karachi to Peshawar
According to them, the first train will depart Karachi for Peshawar at 2:30 pm. on April 29, 2022. The train will pass through Karachi Cantt, Landhi Hyderabad, Nawabshah, Rohri Khanpur Bahawalpur, Multan, Khanewal, Shorkot Cantt, Toba Tek Singh, Gojra, Faisalabad, Chiniot, Chenab Nagar, Shaheenabad, Sargodha, Mandi Bahauddin, Lala Musa, Jhelum, Rawalpindi, Taxila and finally reach Peshawar at 11:00 pm
The train will include 14 economy class carriages. A total of 1,000 passengers will be able to board this train.
Second Train – Karachi to Lahore
The second special train would depart Karachi Cantt at 7:45 pm on April 30, 2022, for Lahore.
It would travel through Landhi, Hyderabad, Nawab Shah, Rohri, Sadiqabad, Rahim Yar Khan Khanpur, Bahawalpur, Multan Cantt, Khanewal, Mian Channu Chichawatni, and other cities before arriving in Lahore at 03:30 the next day.
