Automatic Information System to be Installed at Railway Stations

ISLAMABAD (February 12 2009): To modernise the railway information system and to make it more effective, Pakistan Railways has entered into an agreement with United Technical Network Technology (UNTNT) and Mobilink to install automatic information system at the railways stations.

Pakistan Railways, UNTNT and Mobilink have inked an agreement under which the UNTNT and Mobilink will install electronic boards at platforms and main waiting rooms of the railways stations across the country, sources in the Ministry of Railways told Business Recorder here on Wednesday.

They said that on these electronic boards' tickers about the arrival and departure of the trains would be shown for the public convenience. Sources added that Pakistan Railways, in collaboration with the UTNT, a Canada-based firm, has already installed computerised boards at 30 railways stations, including Peshawar, Nowshehra, Rawalpindi, Jehlum, Gujrat, Gujranwala, Gujjar Khan, Lahore, Sukkur, Hyderabad and Karachi.

They further said that for further action, a high level meeting had been called on February 14, which would be participated by all divisional officers of signals and other senior official, including Mobilink and UNTNT.They said that the formal inauguration of the electronic system is likely to be held in March. They said that maintenance of trains' timing was an uphill task for the railway authorities, as passengers had to reach their destinations in time once in a blue moon.

The system would upgrade the standard of customers' amenities in the similar passions as that of the developed countries, they added. "Coupled with online train system, the railways management will be in a position to control trains operation more punctually," said the sources. They further said that the ticketing mechanism was yet to be computerised to make it more beneficial for the general public," they said.

The government wanted to make the railways a competitive institution in the region, as with the functioning of Gwadar port, most cargo handling will be done through railways, the sources added.