Railway upgrades: New porter system on the cards, says railways minister

Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique said on Saturday that decision had been taken to replace old contracting system with modern porter system.

In a media statement here, Khawaja Saad Rafique said people elected “Lion” (election symbol of Pakistan Muslim League-N) in both general elections of 2013 and the first phase of Local Government elections in the Punjab.

“I empowered PR CEO Javed Anwar to hold talks with porters and get their input that how the department could improve their work conditions”, said the minister.

He said Karakoram Express would be made operational by November 30.

With the grace of the Almighty Allah, Karakoram Express would be made operational by November 30 after value addition, he added.

“Business Train, Karachi Express and Karakoram Express will be updated”.

“After this, Business Express will be rebranded and launched under a fresh marketing strategy”, he said.

“Through this, the ministry was able to recover Rs 160 million”, he said.

He added that a committee has been constituted for the service structure of railway employees and soon a labor package will be announced for them. We will spend Rs 25 million annually on workers’ welfare.

During last four months of the current year, the PR earned over Rs 10 billion which was highest so far, he added. To a question, the minister said those responsible for corruption should be arrested.