Finally there appears to be some sign of light at the end of a dark tunnel for the Pakistan Railways (PR). The findings presented in a suo motu hearing in the Supreme Court have unsurprisingly pointed towards generalised corruption and specifically a violation of rules in the purchase of 75 locomotives. With only 60 out of 400 engines currently available, PR has been dragged to the point of ruin, with a scarcity of funds even to pay the pensioners their dues. The railways network is known to be the most convenient and cost-effective means of moving goods and people. Unfortunately, mismanagement and raging corruption have driven this once valuable asset of the state to the brink of virtually irreversible devastation, the rehabilitation of which has been estimated at Rs 28 billion, a figure with which, in the view of Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, a new railways department could be established. Furthermore, a sizeable quantity of land, a huge resource of PR, has been taken over by land mafias and squatters. New reports are indicating that apart from individual and private land grabbers, the government, the army, Frontier Corps (FC) and the Rangers are also in illegal possession of hundreds of acres of land belonging to PR that has failed in looking after it. On a positive note, private investors have shown willingness to contribute financial resources required to revamp at least 100 freight trains, the lucrative arm of the PR due to their essentiality for the business sector. Such private-public partnerships as an approach aimed at the revival of the railways should be welcomed and while this arrangement signifies the onset of better prospects for PR, some drastic steps to tackle the issue of mismanagement and corruption need to be taken on priority basis. Those responsible for the collapse of this national asset must be held accountable and those accused of corruption must be referred to NAB promptly, as directed by the chief justice. The illegally occupied land assets of the PR must be recovered and if the incumbent administration has proved inefficient, then a new team should be brought in and the railways restored to its former glory. The role of the Supreme Court in taking up the matter should be commended, as it is reflective of an attempt towards the resuscitation of this valuable national asset that the government had turned a blind eye to. *