ISLAMABAD: Minister for Railways Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed has said that Prime Minister Imran Khan has given the permission to resume train services under given SOPs from Wednesday, May 20.
A day earlier, the railways minister had appealed to Prime Minister Imran Khan to allow the resumption of rail operations ahead of Eid, saying that delays may result in a worsening of the economic crisis.
If no decision is taken by the incumbent government in the coming week, the railways authorities will not be able to control the rush at train stations across the country ahead of Eid, he had warned.
Addressing a press conference on Monday, the Minister said that the Prime Minister has given the permission to operate 30 trains for now. He said that if conditions improve by June 1, more trains could be allowed to operate.
Rasheed said that many people have already made online pre-bookings of train tickets. He outlined some SOPs saying that citizens should not come to pick up or drop off passengers to railway stations as a precautionary measure and noted that there is no restriction on the travelers’ age. He warned that no violation of SOPs will be tolerated and any such instance would result in action against the Regional Superintendent.
“People have made bookings worth Rs240 million because of Eidul Fitr and are constantly asking us to resume train services,” the minister had said, adding that after the coming week, railways will have to return payments even though it is already going through a severe crisis and a default would be unbearable for the institution.
He also said that emergency has been declared at Karachi, Multan, Lahore, Rawalpindi, and Quetta stations to ensure that no irrelevant person, except passengers with valid booking can enter the premises. He said those, who have not yet got their booking confirmed can book their seats if available.
