Pakisthan Trade union leader urged to purchase loco from India

Govt urged to import locomotives from India

Sunday, 01 Aug, 2010

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LAHORE, July 31: Reiterating its stance that suspending operation of passenger trains is no solution, the Pakistan Railway Employees Prem Union (CBA) has urged the government to seek help from India to bring the organisation out of the ongoing financial crisis.

“India and Pakistan have more or less the identical railway system. We can have locomotives from India on the pattern of rental power plants. Why can’t we import locomotives when we are getting tomatoes, onions and cotton from India”, union central senior vice-president Sheikh Anwar said at a news conference here on Saturday.

He said that Pakistani traders imported tomato worth Rs3 billion within a span of four months while onion and other vegetables had also been imported from India in the recent past.

“Why cannot Pakistan Railway import cheap Alco locomotives which India is manufacturing with the collaboration of United States?”

Indian Railways has been using only one brand of locomotive across the country while Pakistan Railways is using locomotives manufactured by different countries, including America, Japan, Brazil and China. Had the Pakistan Railways used locomotives of one brand, it would have saved millions of rupees only in spare parts category.

Recent inventories showed that a number of imported spare parts and other mechanical gadgets worth over Rs8 billion had been rendered useless and were being stolen from stores.

He demanded that the government should initiate an inquiry in this regard and award exemplary punishment to those found involved in the heinous crime.

Lahore Station Zone president Iftikhar Ali Khan said that railways workers would continue their struggle to save the present railways system and all conspiracies against the privatisation of the organisation would be thwarted with the unity of workers.

Workers would not allow all such officers to sit in their respective offices who would try to deprive labourers of their due rights, he added.