LAHORE: Pakistan Railways has announced the launch of its first mobile application, to facilitate travelers to reserve seats of their choice without having to visit the local ticketing office.
In addition to being able to reserve their seats on 48 trains, passengers can also view information regarding arrival, possible delays, expected travel time, stoppages and payment solutions through the newly launched application.
In a press conference here on Monday, Minister for Railways Khawaja Saad Rafique said that the initiative has been taken after railways observed the success of its e-ticketing initiative which was launched before “In October last year that got immense appreciation from the public” he said, adding “passengers can now avail this facility on 48 trains currently operating on main lines”.
Rafique further said that the restructuring of IT directorate was not an easy task, as the corporation was passing through its worst period and private firms and young professionals were reluctant to work with railways.
He added that in few months, railways earned Rs60 million through the e-ticketing. “We are not claiming that the state of affairs in railways has been fixed – (but) at least, things are now much more positive than they were in 2013.”
“We are currently auditing on merit the rehabilitation process of different coaches. We have to spend a huge amount on this project from our own resources and we are currently undergoing fiscal management,” Rafique added.
Talking about the issue of level crossings, the minister said that railways is currently working with the Punjab government on a business model through which private firms will be invited to construct underpasses from level crossings in big cities and converting un-manned crossings to manned ones on a Build-Operate-Transfer mode.
“We don’t want to depend on Chinese investments only; we welcome other mode of investments in different projects as the scale of the business is vast,” he added.
