Pakistan Rlys on same track as Lalu

NEW DELHI, SEPTEMBER 16: The winds of change sweeping the Indian Railways over the past few months have had a resonance on the other side of the border as well. In a remarkable coincidence Pakistan Railways seems to have chosen to tread similar lines as its Indian counterpart in a slew of activities in the recent times.

Consider this: On July 31, Indian Railways signed an agreement with the Department of Posts to introduce sale of reserved tickets from selected post offices. Almost a month later in August, Pakistan’s Railway Ministry signed a similar agreement with Pakistan Post launching the sale of tickets from 50 locations in the country.

Even as Indian Railways was busy roping in MNCs to set up Automatic Vending Machines to dispense beverages at railway stations last year, Pakistan Railway Advisory & Consultancy Services (PRACS), a subsidiary of Pakistan Railways, was also calling bids to install coin or smart-card operated vending machines dispensing water, beverages and eatables on-board trains as well as railway stations.

Of late, much like Indian Railways, Pakistan Railways has also been continuously exploring options to increase its revenues through branding and advertising of railway property, including rolling stock. While Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav appears to be having second thoughts over going ahead with a plan to construct 100 Budget Hotels across India, Pakistan Railways too invited Expressions of Interest (EOI) for setting up 55 “low budget hotels” in January this year. The bids for the project closed in June this year.

One area where Indian Railways can possibly follow its Pakistani counterpart is in the introduction of high-speed trains. Moving swiftly in February this year, Pakistan Railways awarded the feasibility study for running high-speed trains between Rawalpindi and Lahore to an Austrian and Spanish consortium. Indian Railways, meanwhile, still appears to be dragging its feet on the matter.

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