FCCI Stresses Collective Efforts To Make Railways Profitable

FAISALABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 24th Mar, 2023 ) :Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry (FCCI) Vice President Haji Muhammad Aslam Bhalli said on Friday that Pakistan Railways (PR) was a national entity and collective efforts were needed to make it a profitable organisation.

In a meeting with Railways Assistant Operations Officer Suleman Khalid here, he said that burden on the downtown area could be lessened by constructing a parking plaza and a multi-storey market on railways land outside Jhang Bazaar. He said that the proposal was floated 15-20 years ago, but it could not be materialised so far. He said that for the time being this land could also be used for parking till the final decision is taken.

He also welcomed a proposal to build a modern restaurant at Railway platform, but said that we should make it accessible instead of erecting barriers. He also stressed the need to use railway polo ground behind district headquarters hospital for promotion of healthy sports activities. He was critical of the installation of a railway engine just outside the historic building of the railway station as it has blocked its outlook.

The assistant operations officer gave a presentation and said that two high speed cargo trains come to the city daily and the business community must avail the safe, affordable and efficient service.

Comparing the fare of railway containers with road fare, he said that two side fare of a container from Faisalabad to Karachi is only 187,000 while one way road fare is Rs 3 lakh.

He said that railways could enter into the city anytime but trucks have limited entry timing. He said that earlier railways was not allowed to lease out its land but now this bar has been lifted. He said that we could now use railway land for profitable purposes. He said that daily ten thousand passengers visit Faisalabad Railway Station and we should also consider exploiting its publicity potential.

He clarified that a drop lane has been provided outside the railway station where visitors could drop their guests and stay there for 15-20 minutes. He requested the FCCI to formally submit an application to establish a cargo point of Pakistan Railway in FIEDMC. He also floated a proposal that FCCI and railway officials must conduct a joint visit to finalize the proposals before inviting Divisional Superintendent Pakistan Railway Lahore to FCCI.