ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Railways will be branding several passenger trains and railway platforms across the country in a bid to transform itself into a profitable department.
Khawaja Saad Rafique, Minister for Railways, has already directed the concerned authorities to present a new revenue model with regard to the branding of trains and platforms, an official of the ministry told APP.
He said the move would not only address the issue of the department’s rising deficit but also allow private companies to advertise their products to improve the financial condition of the railways.
The official said that initially five trains would be offered to Pakistan Railways for branding their seat covers, internal walls of passenger coaches, and even toilets as a pilot project.
“The department’s deficit will decline after this project starts and the minister has already directed the concerned authorities to complete all the formalities in this regard as early as possible,” he added.
Talking about concentrating on core activities, he said that Pakistan Railways prepared a business plan in January 2023 to enhance its revenue and reduce expenditure through improved governance. He added that the plan is being implemented in letter and spirit.
The recent initiatives for digitization in form of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and Railway Automated Booking and Travel Assistance (RABTA) are also aimed at increasing efficiency and reducing the revenue expenditure gap, he added.
Green Line service of Pakistan Railways
He said Pakistan Railways has restarted its premium train service Green Line from January 2023 with trains consisting of new Chinese coaches imported recently that are equipped with infotainment services like LEDs, Wi-Fi and public address systems.
The department is also importing 230 passenger coaches from China, out of these 46 have arrived while the rest would be assembled within the country through Transfer of Technology (ToT).
While emphasising on revenue generation through non-core activities, the official said that Pakistan Railways recently presented a business plan before the Supreme Court and requested the court to permit the department to utilize its land for economic activities and thereby generate revenue for itself.
He added that some other avenues were also being explored to improve the revenue potential of the department, including the business potential through laying optical fibre cable along the railway tracks.
—APP
