Railways incur Rs 90m losses per day due to floods

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Railways had been suffering losses of around Rs 90 million per day due to unexpected monsoon rains and flash floods across the country.
“The relentless monsoon rains and floods have not only destroyed the many railway tracks, but also damaged the bridges which disconnected Sindh and Balochistan with other parts of the country,” officials in the Ministry of Railways told state-run official media Sunday.
They said during the last month, Quetta was disconnected from the rest of the country after bridge collapse at Mach Station, which had resulted in the cancellation of seven important trains between Karachi and Quetta.
Pakistan Railways had also announced suspension of operations of five express major trains on the Main Line-I (ML-I) a few days ago until the rehabilitation of railway tracks, they said.
They said the main line of Pakistan Railways was under the flood-water between Tando Masti Khan-Gambat and Mehrabpur-Lakhro sections. Similarly, the track was sub merged at various spots in Balochistan.
The sources said that furthermore, Pakistan Railways had already asked the passengers who want their tickets refunded can contact the respective reservation offices.
They said that the flood water would drain in the next 7 to 10 days, which would allow for the rehabilitation and eventual resumption of operations while the freight van operations have been resumed on a few tracks at a slow pace of 10-20 kilometers per hour.-NNI