Daily Times

The tragic rail mishap near Multan that claimed six lives and injured 150 others is not a new phenomenon in Pakistan. Although the preliminary investigation has largely held the passenger train driver responsible for negligent behviour in this particular episode, he cannot be blamed for the previous crashes that periodically occur across the country.

Last July, a military train derailment killed at least 17 passengers in Gujranwala, while another crash that took place only three months later claimed 19 lives in Balochistan. The triple-train collision of 2005 is still regarded among the worst railway tragedies in the country’s history. Failed brakes, collapsed bridges, and militant attacks have long dissuaded a significant number of Pakistanis from making use of an otherwise inexpensive mode of transportation. Hence an institution that could have made use of thousands of miles of tracks and trains inherited from colonial days continues to crumble from callous neglect despite thriving in other countries.

Lack of investment, both private and public, on top of corrupt elements that continue to mismanage the vestige left of Pakistan Railways, are largely responsible for this decline. The much-touted transportation successes by administrations fail to account for their decades-long neglect towards the railway. In this year’s budget speech, Rs 78 billion announced for the development of Pakistan Railways stood at a stark contrast with the elaborate fund allocated for roads and highways (Rs 130 billion). Promises of additional locomotives are announced every now and then, however, the institute still make do with its small fleet of a couple of hundred carriages in lieu of thousand carriages that are required. These outdated engines still rely on human operators, and are a major threat to the safety of their passengers.

Pakistan needs a complete and an immediate overhaul of its rail infrastructure. A significantly greater number of trains are now required to even survive the existing demand, and that is before development of more routes. The increasingly strong bureaucracy also needs to be acted against in order to rid the department of all political influences. Even though such a transition, out of the present loss-making phase, may seem hard to believe, examples of the subway system in New York, tube in London and more importantly, the high-speed railways in India suggest otherwise. Once suffering from similarly dismal circumstances, railway in India has now developed into the world’s largest train network while running on its own steam. Pakistan can also follow these success stories and make use of the available capacity to evolve in an efficient manner.

If railways overcome the prolonged delays and improves the linkages between its provinces, the country could also attract significantly more freight haulage. Despite lowering the transportation costs by more than half of that by road, businesses hardly rely on rail networks because of their unreliability. The largest number of civil employees that the enterprise hires is another major contributor towards its increasing deficit. The administration should revolutionise all aspects of the framework so that unnecessary expenses can be removed in favour of developmental programmes. The technical up-gradation should, however, be done on an immediate basis to avoid greater tragedies in future. Better protection of its passengers should be ensured by the Railways department. A thorough review of the Multan accident could be implemented as a much-needed first step in this direction. *