Abstract:
Purpose: The purpose of this research project is to identify if privatization of
Pakistan railways will improve better utilization of its existing assets and how it can
help in improving logistics facility in Pakistan.
Pakistan Railways (PR) once a profitable institution now needs huge public funds to
keep it afloat. For years the governments have been using Pakistan Railways to get
political favors by giving employment to incompetent people. Pakistan Railways has
been used as a social service to create jobs, offer subsidize travel to government
servants and other groups. Corruption exists in all cadre of employees, from stealing
oil, scrap, ticket and receiving commission on purchases. For almost a decade PR has
needed nearly Rs.30 billion of subsidies/ write off to keep the organization running.
The organization can no longer be supported by public funds and needs to be made
financially viable as public enterprises or privatized to reduce the losses to the
exchequer.
Research Methodology: The Data to carryout research was collected through a
questionnaire base survey. It contained the sample of 206 respondents for the purpose
of analysis. The respondents included employees of different SC, Supply Chain
Managers, students specializing in Supply Chain Management, and owners of the
business were the main respondents. The collected data was analyzed using Statistical
Software SPSS 19.
Findings of the Research: This research project studied the options of privatizing or
deregulating PR. The alternate is to provide huge input of funds to make Pakistan
Railways commercially viable. The option to gradually deregulate PR by inviting
external firms to operate passenger and freight trains and provide services that would
restore the confidence of businessmen and general public in Pakistan Railways. The
research carried out shows that the respondents favor deregulating freight trains,
reducing overstaffing gradually and bringing in professional management to revive
Pakistan Railways. The respondents rejected the investment in infrastructure upgrade
under the present sick system. Practical Implications: Deregulating freight trains will bring in many logistics firms
in freight transport by train and not only improve the service but also reduce on
congestion on the roads.
