Pakistan to see revolutionary change in years ahead: PM
* Nawaz says fast-paced economic activity has started across country * a lot has been done, much more needs to be done
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ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Friday said that fast-paced economic activity has started across the country and people of Pakistan are about to witness a revolutionary change in the years ahead.

Addressing a ceremony to launch a modern “Green Train” service that would ply between Islamabad and Karachi, he said it was a sign that the Pakistan Railways has turned around into an income-generating organisation. The prime minister also unveiled a plaque to launch the train that would cover the distance between Islamabad and Karachi in 23 hours and would provide comfortable sleepers, WiFi, meals and newspapers for the passengers. He went around different compartments of the train and appreciated the quality of facilities being provided to the passengers.

The prime minister particularly noted that the Railways was no more a loss making organisation and has started generating income. He said Rs 18 billion income was generated in financial year 2012-13, that increased to Rs 23 billion in 2013-14. In the current year it has been estimated to be Rs 28 billion, however there were indications that it would go up to Rs 31 billion. He said the Railways was creating history by launching a new Railway service and appreciated the workers of the organisation who made it a success. He said though a lot has been done, there was still much more that was yet to be done.

He said Green Line should be treated as an experimental project and said more such projects need to be undertaken to make cheap, fast rail travel a reality. He appreciated that all passengers of the new train service would be insured to the tune of Rs 1 million and hoped the organisation would continue to come up with more facilities for its passengers. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif expressed the hope that the China Pakistan Economic Corridor would benefit from the improvement of services of the Pakistan Railways and would have a service from Kashgar to Karachi. He said the time was not far when Pakistan Railways would have a train service to Turkey.

The prime minister lauded the services of Minister for Railways Saad Rafique for turning around the service that was on the brink of collapse and has started generating income while the losses have been drastically cut down. He also appreciated him for recovery of over 3,000 acres, worth Rs 10 billion, of railways property from land mafia.

Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk

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