Pakistan Railways has held responsible and penalized over 97 officials of the department on corruption charges during the last five years, as a part of its efforts to control malpractices. “Several steps are being taken to control corruption in Pakistan Railways which include introducing ticket vending machines and online reservation of tickets to avoid black marketing,” an official in the Ministry told APP. The official said that Pakistan Railways has established a task team to keep watch on any irregularities and check the attendance of staff in the organization. He said the ticketless campaigns through Special Ticket Examiners (STEs) groups and officers are being carried out on a daily basis in the divisions to check and charge the ticketless passengers with a penalty. “The payment of pension is being carried out through online banking system to facilitate the pensioners as well as to eliminate the ghost pensioners from the department,” he added. He said all the auctions are transparently held through the designated committee and the deposited amount is being received through CDR duly verified by the concerned Divisional Accounts Officers (DAO). The official said E-Kacheri as well as Khuli Kacheri are held on a monthly basis to resolve the grievances of staff, pensioners, and the public. He said that vigilance offices have been established over the system to control corruption and resolve any complaint received from the public and Railway staff. The official said the regular performance review meetings are conducted to ensure the timely disposal of disciplinary cases of employees. He said the focal persons have been nominated from all departments of Pakistan Railways to promptly resolve the complaints reported through the Prime Minister’s Performance Delivery Unit (PMDU).