Hours-long delays, cancellation of service and derailed trains have caused a record increase in refunding as 16,299 intending passengers decided against travelling after buying the tickets during the first nine days of the current month.

City42, the sister organisation of 24NewsHD which has the details of refunding from Oct 1 to Oct 9, reported that the number covered all the seven railway divisions in the country.

This alarming situation negates the tall claims made by Railways Minister Sheikh Rashid who has been promising about rebranding the department. But perhaps making political predictions, especially about the end of Nawaz Sharif’s politics and the arrest of opposition leaders, is his sole focus.

Out of these 16,299 people, 1,816 were the business class passengers while another 917 got their tickets refunded through e-ticketing.

Sources say the increase in train accidents and delayed service have minimised the trust of citizens in the Pakistan Railways.

In this connection, both Lahore and Karachi railways divisions – the busiest in the country – have failed to control the train delays, they said and added that the failure was causing hundreds of millions in losses.

On the other hand, the coronavirus is seemingly the most favourite item to shift responsibility for everyone in government whether they are the political leaders or lifelong officials. That’s why the Pakistan Railways spokesperson blamed the pandemic for the reduction in the number of passengers.

It is worth noting that the railways was witnessing a remarkable recovery during the PML-N’s last stint when Khawaja Saad Rafique headed the ministry. During his tenure, not only the railways ensured punctuality but also the number of passengers witnessed a marked increased amid the improved service.

Meanwhile, there was another accident on Tuesday this time near Ghotki at Mahesaro Railway Station where four bogies of a freight train derailed, blocking the main railway track for the trains moving to the north of the country.

As a result, the Peshawar-bound Khyber Mail was stopped at Sangi Railway Station in Sukkur district.