EDITORIAL: Railways Minister Hanif Abbasi’s recent declaration that Pakistan Railways is on course to achieve Rs100 billion in revenue in FY2025-26, with Rs50 billion projected in the first six months alone, reflects a welcome and encouraging turn-around, signaling renewed fiscal discipline, operational momentum and growing confidence in the railways’ capacity to reclaim its role as a commercially viable national asset. As outlined by Abbasi, the reversal in fortunes has come about on the back of a focused reform agenda centered on enhanced safety standards, improved service quality, accelerated digitisation and more disciplined management of railway assets. A brief overview of recent performance indicators suggests that the minister’s assertions aren’t without merit. The elevation of the safety function into a full-fledged directorate has delivered tangible results, with the accident rate falling from 0.09 percent to 0.04 percent and no serious incidents reported since the change. Increased digitisation has enhanced transparency and efficiency, helping to curb revenue losses and streamline ticketing and accounting, although there is still room for further improvements in these areas. Moreover, long-standing financial losses linked to encroachments on railway land are also being addressed, as evidenced by the recovery of 394 acres in 2025 and a clear commitment to reclaim all illegally occupied land by December 2026, opening space for future commercial use and revenue growth. While these developments are encouraging, there remain plenty of untapped opportunities that could elevate the railways to its full potential. Foremost among these is the almost criminally-overlooked need to significantly expand freight operations. The last credible data available indicates that Pakistan Railways runs around 23 scheduled freight trains daily, although at any given time as many as 60 are in operation, reflecting a larger footprint than daily schedules alone suggest. In contrast, more than one hundred passenger trains run daily, underscoring a pronounced imbalance, driven in large part by political considerations and the higher visibility passenger services offer. Globally, in many profitable railway networks, freight serves as the primary profit driver, and even where passenger services are substantial, maintaining a more balanced freight-to-passenger mix is the key to attaining financial sustainability. High passenger volumes alone do not necessarily translate into increased sustainable profitability. For a country of Pakistan’s size, with its extensive industrial and agricultural demands, it is, in fact, imperative that freight operations are expanded, not only in terms of the number of trains but also across a wider network of routes. This would multiply the railways’ revenue streams manifold, as well as provide a strong incentive to enhance track and rolling stock quality. Additionally, this would also generate numerous positive externalities. A robust freight network would ease pressure on the country’s road transport system, especially in Karachi, which bears the brunt of port-related freight movement. Crucially, it would reduce the frequent blackmail and disruptions that authorities face from transporters, who often halt operations at the slightest perceived threat to their interests or even when expected to follow basic road safety regulations. Moreover, freight trains can carry a wide range of goods, from heavy industrial materials and coal to agricultural produce and petroleum products, offering a more economical and efficient alternative to road transport. It goes without saying then that harnessing this potential effectively could position the railways as the backbone for the nation’s logistics and economic growth. In FY2024-25, out of the railways’ total revenue of Rs93 billion, around Rs31.5 billion came from freight operations, clearly indicating that this segment remains vastly underutilised and holds immense potential for revenue growth. The government must urgently prioritise a long-overdue scaling up of freight operations as that could transform Pakistan Railways into an indispensable engine of national commerce besides paving the way for making it sustainably profitable. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025