The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has identified six policy reforms to strengthen the railway system in Pakistan and throughout the Central Asian Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) region, stating that railways throughout the region should consider implementing key reforms to make them more efficient and financially sustainable.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has released a new research that evaluates the health of CAREC railways and identifies potential for investment, commercialization, and reform. Railways around the region can assist boost economic growth and enhance people’s lives by implementing crucial reforms.
According to the report, Pakistan Railways has 466 locomotives and 16,159 freight waggons, with 23% of locomotives and 24% of waggons being out of service.
According to the survey, the majority of regional railways now employ accounting systems that do not adhere to internationally recognised business standards. These outdated technologies are incapable of accurately measuring the genuine financial performance of railway firms or of distinguishing the financial performance of each economic activity.
Railways in the region must adopt sophisticated commercial accounting systems that give accurate and transparent real-time data on expenses, revenues, and financial performance. It is also critical to improve personnel knowledge in operating the system and using it to analyse railway performance. Additionally, railways must implement enterprise resource planning tools to assist them in adopting more commercial tactics that will boost productivity and profitability.
