Staff Report
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Railways has generated revenue worth Rs 5,269,315 through utilizing its 23 saloons and inspection coaches for commercial purposes, during the last three years. “At present, Pakistan Railways has only 23 salons and inspection coaches with different dignitaries of the country who are entitled to use these salons when needed,” an official in the Ministry of Railways stated on Thursday.
Giving the details, he said, “Two highly luxurious coaches have been allocated for the Prime Minister’s Secretariat while four coaches have been allocated for the Minister for Railways, Secretary/Chairman of Railways, and another senior official in the ministry.” The official said, “Only one salon has been allocated to the federal government while one each has been allocated to the Governors of Sindh, Balochistan, Punjab, and the provincial governments.”
In addition, eight salons had been allocated for the Railway Headquarters Lahore, in which one each would be marked to Chief Executive Officer/General Manager (BS-22), Additional General Manager BS-21, Inspector General Railway Police, Federal Government Inspector, and four salons were allocated for Principal Officers, he added.
The official said six salons had been allocated for Divisional Superintendents of Peshawar, Rawalpindi, Quetta, Sukkur, Lahore, and Karachi.
He said that the Principal Officers of Pakistan Railways were entitled to travel at these salons or inspection coaches only when they were travelling on duty. Above all, they said luxury salons were also available for private travel on a rental basis. The official said the salons were very luxurious and had two rooms, a bath, a dining area, and a kitchen like a tiny house on wheels with the availability of every facility. He said some of these salons were inspection coaches and their back wall was made of glass from where officers could view the track and surrounding area. “Pakistan Railways officers are not entitled to use this facility other than duty and all these salons are mostly 40-50 years old,” he added.
