Lahore (Lord Media): Pakistan Railways conducted an open auction for the outsourcing of 15 trains but managed to award contracts for only five. The outsourcing of the remaining 10 trains was postponed due to a lack of bids.
Pakistan Railways generated a revenue of 10.7823 billion rupees from the outsourcing of the five trains. Awam Express, Millat Express, Karakoram Express, Mianwali Express, and Narowal Passenger were handed over to private partners.
Awam Express was outsourced for 3.56 billion rupees, Karakoram Express for 3.9015 billion rupees, Millat Express for 2.7728 billion rupees, Mianwali Express for 401 million rupees, and Narowal Passenger for 147 million rupees.
Pakistan Railways had set a benchmark of over 25 billion rupees for the outsourcing of 15 trains, but companies were reluctant to submit bids due to the high benchmark set for the 10 trains.
A spokesperson for Pakistan Railways stated that the high benchmark was intended to maximize revenue for the institution. The auction of the five trains was conducted at excellent rates, and Railways achieved its revenue targets.
