Federal Minister for Railways Khawaja Saad Rafique has said that railways freight capacity will double after the arrival of 55 locomotives in the country by July this year.
He said this here on Sunday after inaugurating the 4,000 horsepower locomotive, purchased from American General Electric Company (GE).
He said that locomotives would be used to transport coal to the coal-run power plants from Karachi port, adding that the new locomotives have a capacity of pulling up to 3,400 tonnes of load.
The minister said the locomotives are fuel efficient and environment-friendly.
Railway driver Muhammad Latif and assistant driver Abdul Hameed, who died in the Sheikhupura accident, had tried their best to save the lives of the passengers till the very last moment, the minister said.
“Examination of the burnt engine showed that the driver tried his level best to apply emergency breaks till the last moment and it helped in reducing the intensity of the collision and saving the lives of passengers,” he added.
Saad Rafique said that the family of driver Muhammad Latif would get a financial assistance of Rs 7.7 million and that of assistant driver Abdul Hameed Rs 7.4 million.
Later, talking to the media, Saad Rafique said that every political party has its own agenda.
He said that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan should understand that raising slogans is easy but materialising them is not, adding that in the tenure of the incumbent government the condition of railways had improved a lot.
