Daily Times

Pakistan Railways is set to float tender shortly, allowing national and multinational firms to utilise several passenger trains and railway platforms for generating maximum revenue for the department.

“All preparations regarding the branding of trains and platforms, railway station, certain crossings and trains have been completed and hopefully the tender will be floated this week,” sources in the Ministry told APP on Tuesday. The sources said the branding of the trains and platforms would not only address the increasing deficit of Pakistan Railways but will also allow private firms to advertise their products for this purpose.

They said that initially, Pakistan Railways would offer five trains for branding their seat covers, internal walls of the passenger coaches, and even toilets as a pilot project. “The deficit of the department will decrease after starting this project and the minister has already directed the concerned to complete all the formalities in this regard as soon as possible,” they added. They said that advertisers would have access to the parking area, platforms, staircases, bridges and other infrastructure at Lahore Railway Station. The sources said this was not the first time Pakistan Railways has attempted to monetize its assets for advertising purposes. In 2014 also, the organization launched a pilot project to offer branding opportunities to companies across the seat covers, internal walls of passenger coaches, and toilets on the Tezgam, Khyber Mail, and Awaam Express. However, the initiative was unsuccessful. The initiative, the sources said, however, based on the information, looks to mitigate the problems faced by its predecessor by adopting a more grand approach to the issue.