Pakistan Railways declared on Monday January 01, 2024 that it made Rs41 billion in the first half of this financial year, which is much more than what it earned during the same period last year.
However, operational costs and other financial details were not disclosed by the management.
During the first six months of the previous financial year, the railways earned Rs28 billion, showing a 46% increase in revenue from July to December this year.
The railway administration shared that out of the Rs41 billion revenue, Rs24 billion came from passenger trains and Rs11 billion from freight services. Other sectors contributed around Rs5.5 billion to the total revenue.
Currently, Pakistan Railways runs 96 passenger trains, up from 86 last year. Similarly, the number of freight trains has increased from an average of 3.75 to seven this year.
The management credited the substantial revenue increase to efficient resource utilization, without any additional spending or government assistance. They noted that delays in paying employee salaries have been addressed, and anticipate further improvements with the initiation of the Mainline-I (ML-I) project.
The revenue target for Pakistan Railways for the current fiscal year is Rs80 billion, up by Rs10 billion from the previous year’s target of Rs70 billion. Despite falling short of last year’s target by Rs7.5 billion, management is confident in achieving the Rs80 billion goal ahead of schedule, by June 2024.
To counter inflationary pressures, particularly rising fuel costs, Pakistan Railways has raised fares for both passengers and freight, contributing to improved revenues in the first half of the fiscal year.
