BAHAWALPUR, Pakistan: The Federal Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique said on Saturday that the performance of Pakistan Railways was being improved on modern lines for the provision of safe, cheap, and fastest mode of travelling to its passenger.
Talking to media persons in Bahawalpur, he said that the rail traffic of the department had increased many fold which consisted of 65,000 trains including goods train annually across the country.
The minister said that in order to avert accidents, Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) were being changed and medical, blood and psychology tests became mandatory for operative staff of rail traffic.
With reference to train accident at Lodhran, the minister said that human error could not be ignored in this tragedy so train’s driver, assistant driver and gatekeeper was in police custody for interrogation after registering case against them.
While responding to a question, he said that under a comprehensive plan Pakistan Railways was upgrading major railways station into model railways stations under a phased programme.
Saad Rafique said that the construction work of Bahawalpur’s railway station costing Rs 280 million was also in progress and would be completed by December 2017.
The railways minister further said that after the completion of the inquiry its report would be published for public also.
Earlier, Khawaja Saad Rafique visited Victoria Hospital, Bahawalpur and inquired about the health condition of four children who were admitted yesterday after injuring in train accident at Lodhran.
The minister also announced a financial assistance of Rs 15 lakh for those killed in train accident and Rs 3 lakh for injured children. He also expressed his grief and sorrow over the loss of precious lives in train accident at Lodhran.
