Pakistan Railways posts record Rs115bn revenue in FY26

July 23, 2026 (MLN): Pakistan Railways generated a record revenue of Rs115bn during fiscal year 2025-26, registering a 24.2% increase in overall earnings, with the operating ratio improving from 96% to 84% over the period.

Federal Minister for Railways Muhammad Hanif Abbasi shared these figures while addressing a roundtable conference organised under the Uraan Pakistan Forum, alongside Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal, who also spoke at the event, APP reported.

Hanif Abbasi said the government had accorded top priority to upgrading railway tracks, modernising infrastructure, and transforming Pakistan Railways into a financially sustainable and technology-driven organisation.

He described the revival and modernisation of the railways as a key driver of national economic growth, rather than merely a transport initiative, as reforms and infrastructure development continued under the Uraan Pakistan programme.

Thanking Ahsan Iqbal for organising the forum, the Minister said a significant portion of the railway network was still operating on tracks that had exceeded their economic and technical lifespan, with decades of underinvestment having adversely affected infrastructure.

He noted that neighbouring countries had invested heavily in railway development over the past two decades and stressed that Pakistan must move swiftly in the same direction to improve connectivity and support economic growth.

Freight revenue rose from Rs32bn to Rs41bn, while income from railway land and property increased by 113%, reflecting the success of ongoing institutional reforms, the Minister said.

He said the Ministry of Railways had prepared a comprehensive Strategic Roadmap 2033, focusing on the ML-1 and ML-3 projects, regional connectivity, digital transformation, and modern railway infrastructure.

He informed participants that around 60% of work on the Thar Coal Railway Connectivity Project had been completed, with the project expected to be finished by December 2026.

Pakistan Railways was introducing digital ticketing, smart stations, train tracking systems, enterprise resource planning (ERP) solutions, command and control centres, and other advanced technologies to improve operational efficiency, passenger services, and financial performance, Hanif Abbasi said, adding that the department was also focusing on workforce development, greater private sector participation, and institutional reforms to enhance service quality and administrative efficiency.

He emphasised that timely funding was essential for completing railway projects, saying investment in the sector should be viewed as an investment in Pakistan's future rather than an expenditure.

Ahsan Iqbal said the government was implementing comprehensive reforms across multiple sectors to achieve its goal of transforming Pakistan into a one-trillion-dollar economy by 2030.

He acknowledged that Pakistan Railways had suffered due to inadequate investment in previous decades but said the current government was fully committed to its revival and modernisation, appreciating Hanif Abbasi's leadership and noting that visible improvements were being witnessed as ongoing reforms gradually produced positive results.

Referring to the Main Line-1 (ML-1) project, Ahsan Iqbal said the railway corridor had originally been constructed before the independence of the subcontinent and had not received the required attention for several decades, adding that the groundbreaking of the ML-1 project would be carried out during the current fiscal year.

Copyright Mettis Link News