Scanners not working at railway stations, NA panel told

Committee meeting was held with its convener Ramesh Lal in chair, at Parliament House here

By Asim Yasin

December 05, 2024

People board a train at a railway station. — AFP/File

ISLAMABAD: A subcommittee of the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Railways was informed on Wednesday that scanners and walkthrough gates were not working at all railway stations, except for Lahore.

The committee meeting was held with its convener Ramesh Lal in the chair, at the Parliament House here. The Railway Police officials told the subcommittee that the boundary wall of Quetta Railway Station was broken. They said the Quetta station accident report was submitted to the headquarters by deputy superintendent (DS) Quetta, but no action was taken. When the committee members expressed their annoyance over the malfunction of scanners, the Railway Police officials said, “We tried to get CCTV cameras, but the scanners are not our responsibility”. They told the committee thy had no funds to purchase the CCTV cameras.

The subcommittee members also expressed their anger over the absence of chief executive officer (CEO) railways. Ramesh Lal said the CEO railways should have come to the committee. The railways minister was also not available, the committee members objected.

The committee convener decided to bring a privilege motion against the CEO railways in the NA for not attending a meeting despite being asked.

The railway police officials told the committee that permission had been given for 250 constable posts.

Ramesh said the railways failed to remove encroachments along tracks and a major train accident could happen at any time. He alleged that the railway officials extort money from encroachers and are harming the institution. “There are encroachments on properties worth Rs200 million in Sukkur division,” he remarked.

The sub-committee was told that a separate railway company has been formed to look into the issues of railways lands.

Committee member Waseem Qadir said a meeting should be called at the railway headquarters and officers should be held accountable. He said the railways chairman and chief executive officer should also be invited to the committee.