Pakistan Railways (PR) has achieved its highest-ever revenue of Rs. 54.60 billion during the financial year 2018-19, 10.30% higher compared to FY 2017-18 where it earned Rs. 49.5 billion.

The government claims that through special initiatives, PR has managed to generate additional revenue of Rs. 10 billion that helped reduce its annual deficit by Rs. 4 billion and absorption of an additional Rs. 6 billion in respect of increasing cost of fuel, salaries, and pensions. The annual deficit of Pakistan Railways also decreased from Rs. 36 billion to Rs. 32 billion.

According to the performance report, Pakistan Railways has added 24 new passenger trains to its fleet, all refurbished locally at PR installations at Lahore and Islamabad. These new trains attracted 8 million new passengers and earned an additional revenue of Rs. 5 billion.

The number of yearly rail passengers has also increased to 70 million. Moreover, PR also increased its freight volume from 4% to 7% by introducing special container goods trains.

Pakistan Railways has also introduced a LIVE tracking system and free Wi-Fi at major stations. It has also established a state-of-the-art Command & Control Centre at Lahore Headquarters to improve the safety and efficiency of the railway network. More than 1 million customers are availing Free Live Tracking through their smartphones.

PR also retrieved 383 acres of encroached land worth Rs. 30 billion. Other than that, it also recovered 38 KM of the 43 KM long Karachi Circular Railway land from encroachers.

The report states that the free ticket facility has been extended to 4 trips per year for passengers aged 75 years or more.

There is also a 50% discount on tickets for passengers aged over 65 years.