ISLAMABAD: Railways Minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed has expressed confidence that Karachi Circular Railway will be operationalised within six months in collaboration with the government of Sindh.
Responding to a question in the National Assembly, the railways minister said the Supreme Court has directed to complete the project in six months. He said that the federal and the Sindh governments are on the same page over completing the project.
Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed said housing colonies illegally constructed on railways land and financial crunch are the biggest hurdles in this regard.
Responding to another question, Parliamentary Secretary for Railways Farrukh Habib informed the House that 550 vulnerable unmanned level crossings have been upgraded in collaboration with respective provincial governments to prevent accidents in future.
Farrukh Habib said old age kerosene oil-based signals have been converted to LED lights on the mainline track which have better visibility. He said that cameras are being installed inside the locomotives, while online inspection of officers and staff is also being ensured. Besides, training and monitoring, two thousand fire extinguishers will be installed in trains by the end of this month.
Last week, Rasheed said that anyone from the private sector would run their trains without any remuneration. The government was trying to make Pakistan Railways a profitable institution, adding that 1885 kilometers long new track would be laid from Peshawar to Karachi.
He claimed that the revenue of Pakistan Railways has increased as compared to the previous year. Commenting on ML-1 project he said that he took charge of the railways minister for the sake of project which was his mission of life.
Read more: Sheikh Rasheed to launch Gujranwala express train today
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