PM Allows Partial Resumption Of Train Service: Sheikh Rasheed

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PM allows partial resumption of train service: Sheikh Rasheed

Railways Minister says nobody will be allowed entry inside stations without tickets.

ISLAMABAD: (UrduPoint/Pakistan Point News-May 18th, 2020) Railways Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmad said Prime Minister Imran Khan gave conditional permission for resumption of train services from Wednesday across the country.

“The train service is partially allowed if the Standard Operation Procedures (SOPs) are followed amid fears of Coronavirus,” said Sheikh Rasheed while sharing details of his meeting with PM during media talk here on Monday.

“Nobody will be allowed inside stations without having ticket,” said Sheikh Rasheed, adding that about 7,000 police officers were deployed at [the stations in] Karachi, Lahore, Multan, Rawalpindi, Peshawar, and Quetta.

He said an emergency was imposed at stations.

Police, he said, would ensure that nobody would enter the station without ticket.

He said Divisional Head would be responsible if violation of SOPs was made at stations and strict action would be taken against him.

He also said that a rehearsal was scheduled at all the stations tomorrow (Tuesday).

“All train services will be resumed across the country from June 1 If the conditions remain stable during the current month,” said Sheikh Rasheed, adding that he was grateful to [NDMA Chairperson] Lt Gen Muhammad Afzal, [Federal Minister for Planning and Development] Asad Umar, [Advisor to Prime Minister on Finance and Revenue] Hafeez Shaikh for their support.

He also said that he would visit Peshawar tomorrow to review the measures taken, while day after tomorrow he would see off the green line train.

He pointed out that he would also review the situation at other train stations as well to "ensure" that SOPs and other safety measures were being followed.

“No differences are there with the provinces in this regard,” he said. He also said they would need their support outside the railway stations.

The railway minister informed that there was no age restriction for the passengers and that he was supervising all the procedures himself.

“We suffered losses worth Rs5 billion per month due to the closure of train services,” he said.

There have been no changes in the freight rate, he said, while noting that India had "doubled the fare". "We have not reduced the fares because the number of passengers has been cut down but by 50%," he said.

The minister said that the political atmosphere of the country would change after Eid-ul-Fitr. "I do not expect a change in the National Accountability Bureau Ordinance and even if there is one, I won't support it."

Rejecting rumors about a "conspiracy" being hatched against the Federal government, Sheikh Rasheed said one should ask those who came here for conspiring and now their name was in the blacklist and would be soon in the Exit Control List.

Fida Hussnain

Fida Hussnain is a lahore based journalist. He writes on politics, religion, social issues and climate change. He is also a research fellow at University of Gujrat.