Pakistan Railways' revenue has crossed the Rs100 billion mark for the first time, rising from Rs88 billion to Rs115 billion, Federal Railways Minister Muhammad Hanif Abbasi said at Rawalpindi Railway Station on Monday.
He made the announcement while handing over the commercial management of the Peshawar-Karachi Awam Express to private firm AA Enterprises. Under the new public-private model, the train now has a premium lounge dining car and improved sanitation, which the minister inspected before speaking with passengers.
Abbasi said the revenue target for the current fiscal year is Rs160 billion. He credited the rise to structural reforms, public-private partnerships, anti-theft measures and operational upgrades, adding that a December 31 deadline has been set to settle remaining administrative issues.
The minister said railway hospitals will also be outsourced while free treatment for staff continues. Other plans include free Wi-Fi at 60 stations, restoring the historic buildings at Lahore and Rawalpindi stations, reopening closed branch lines, and planning the ML-1 project with support from the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank.