Pakistan Railways have amounted to a prodigious 144 billion PKR loss

ISLAMABAD, July 17: The losses incurred by Pakistan Railways during the five years period (2015 – 2020) have amounted to a prodigious 144 billion PKR. The stiff competition from road transport and the inability of PR to adopt a customer-centric business plan because of complex bureaucratic structure, has led to an inefficient, underfinanced, and overstaffed public agency running in losses for the last three and a half decades. Placed in the “Retain and Restructure “category after the State Owned Enterprises (SOE) triage exercise in March 2021, the 19th-century infrastructure still grapples with the challenges of the 21st century after several repeated rounds of halfhearted reforms. This was revealed in a recent research report by the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics. PIDE report recommended radical institutional reforms in Pakistan Railway as it currently ranks among the top ten loss-making state-owned enterprises (SOE) in Pakistan; a 44 Billion PKR deficit was reported in 2020; 36 billion PKR pension liability on PR was reported for 120,000 employees in 2020; and to overcome the deficit and pension liability, a 45 billion PKR subsidy was provided by the government in 2020. According to a Press Release issued from the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics, it was said in the report that Fifty percent of ticketing is now electronic but Pakistan Railway still lacks an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system which integrates all the processes. Even the flow of financial information within the enterprise reports a delay of 60 days. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems should be created for the customer relationship including tracking arrangements, call centers, SMS alerts, etc. Railways Automated Booking and Travel Assistance (RABTA) has been advertised. Automation is expected to address the leakages which have been the major reason behind the decline in the volume of PR freight in 2020-21. Additionally, there are 115 000 unverified retirees of PR, who are paid 35 billion rupees annually. To verify these individuals, a biometric verification system for the pensioners has been proposed. The pension deficit has been fielded by the government of Pakistan for PR. A pay and pension commission has been formed which will have to think about not only railways but other public enterprises as well. Furthermore, the Pakistan Railway has 178000 acres of land, out of which 145 000 are being used for operational purposes. – SABAH