Pakistan Railways in Turmoil: Financial Strains Threaten Operations

Pakistan Railways is currently contending with a deepening crisis characterized by acute financial difficulties, manpower shortages, and operational shortcomings. Authorities are forced to continue passenger and freight operations under severely substandard conditions. This deteriorating situation disrupts service and raises serious concerns regarding the safety of passengers and crew, according to reports from Dawn. Insufficient resources have alarmingly impacted maintenance and operations, with officials acknowledging that damage to crucial assets like locomotives, coaches, wagons, and railway tracks increases the risk of accidents.

Internal discussions have underscored the severity of the problem, with personnel expressing frustration over their limited capacity to effectively fulfill duties. A senior Lahore Division official disclosed that the area is functioning with merely half of its authorized workforce. He highlighted bureaucratic delays in financial approvals as minor as PKR 500,000, which stymie timely interventions. Despite these daunting challenges, railway personnel continue to operate under significant stress to keep the system running.

The crisis, rooted in longstanding structural and financial frailties, has exacerbated over the past six to seven years, culminating in a critical state by 2026. The outgoing CEO faced hurdles maintaining operations and ensuring prompt salary payments, signaling deep institutional strains. Makeshift measures are now commonplace, with staff dismantling components from certain coaches to fix others. All railway divisions, including Lahore, Karachi, Multan, Sukkur, Quetta, Rawalpindi, Peshawar, and the Workshop division, struggle with similar issues. In a recent meeting, Divisional Superintendent Inam Ullah Khan urged the focus to improve train operations, as reported by Dawn.