The civil engineering department of Pakistan Railways, in a synopsis moved to the Ministry of Railways, has requested large sums of money to restore infrastructure damaged by heavy rains and floods.
The Department of Civil Engineering has allocated about Rs 5.3 crore to restore the signaling system and Rs. and requires more than 6 billion rupees. Communication towers and other equipment are working again, sources told Pakistan Railways APP.
They said the signaling systems in Lahore, Karachi, Multan and Sukkur divisions were also extensively destroyed due to unexpected rains and floods in most parts of the country.
The sources said an estimate of 2.23 crore rupees was made for repairing and restoring drainage systems at 41 stations, adding that 3,187 kilometers of tracks on Main Lines I, II and III had been completely destroyed.
Similarly, 1,446 railway bridges and culverts were damaged, including two completely destroyed railway bridges in Quetta division and one of two bridges in Sukkur and Karachi divisions washed away.
Railway officials said a total of 1,181 railway bridges were damaged and a total of Rs 433 crore was spent on their repair and construction of 259 new bridges.
As for the tracks, they said the floods had completely destroyed 109.4 kilometers of track on the sections of Chaman, Mirpulhas, Kokrapal, Hyderabad, Quetta and Sialkot. In this section he said 68.123 kilometers of railway was partially damaged, they added.
Repairing the damage and ensuring future safety will require spending Rs 17 billion on this stretch along with the construction of 79 new bridges.
They said Pakistan Railways technical and non-technical staff are working around the clock to restore railway services across the country with the help of local administrations and the Frontier Works Organization (FWO).