MULTAN,Oct 23rd: We are still living in eighteenth century. All trains originate from Multan are considered to be very slow, dilapidated,and facilities less. I have experienced to travel from Multan to Sargodha by a so-called "Sandhal Express" which took eight hours to reach at destination which is merely 170 miles (273 km).It took nine hours to reach Multan.There is dire need of attaching six or eight bogies with this profit oriented train.The condition of its existing four bogies were unarratable and every jerk remember the gory derailment. The train was overcrowded from Shorkot cantt to Sargodha because majority of people use this train for their travelling. Taking breath was very difficult for the standing passengers. There was no way to reach to toilet. STEs and Guard were engaged in minting money . They were receiving fare from the ticketless passengers and putting in their pockets. Railway employees were travelling without any "pass" or ticket.All bogies provided to Multan division are unserviceable,dilapidated and without facilities. Karachi Bound Zikiriya Express reaches at Karachi in 18 hours. Railway Minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed should take initiative to lay double track on Khanewal-Shortkot cantt section which is mere 50 km long to accommodate the traffic of Lahore via Faisalabad to Karachi.All bogies must be refurbished and shot routes should not be neglected .
Railway Minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed who made tall claims to improve the situation in Railway but he did not dare to visit Multan nor restored even single train. There is no train to connect Dera Ghazi Khan,Jampur Rajanpur with Multan. Multan-Peshawar-via Kundian, Multan-Rawalpindi via Kundian (morning train),Multan-Mari Indus, Multan-Faisalabad, Multan-Khanewal (Shuttle) train are still closed.Only one train from Multan to Rawalpindi via Kundian is available in the afternoon.It is important to understand that Pakistan Railways is dying a slow death. In the process, its assets are shrinking and so is the level and scope of services the Railway provides.Corruption, mismanagement, nepotism, and lack of professional expertise plague the Railways.The breakdown of expenses reveals that Railways spends a large sum on maintenance and administration. This can be addressed by segmenting the Railways into smaller functional units with transparent administrative setups.
