Railways employees would get pension and salaries on October 19 in the wake of a successful meeting convened by President of Pakistan Asif Ali Zardari on crisis in Pakistan Railways.

Addressing a press conference here Minister for Railways Haji Ghulam Ahmed Bilour Tuesday said that the President has directed the finance division to release Rs. one billion immediate to Pakistan Railways for payment of salaries and pension.

Expressing gratitude to the President of Pakistan, he said the President was very kind as he had not only convened the meeting but also paid attention to the problems of Pakistan Railways and also issued immediate orders for rehabilitation of Railways. He said the President ordered constitution of a committee comprising the representatives from public-private sector to sort out how to bring Pakistan Railways out of crisis.

He said that the President was informed that Pakistan Railways was paying Rs. 4.6 billion annually to State Bank of Pakistan under the head of interest on Rs. 40 billion borrowing. He said the President took notice of it and asked the finance division to check out how this burden of interest could be eased.

The Minister said that Pakistan Railways revenue was declining consecutively from last three years, adding that it was Rs. 22 billion in year 2009, Rs. 18 billion in 2010 and Rs. 12 billion is estimated for the current fiscal year. It seems difficult in current situation to achieve estimated Rs. 12 billion revenue for the current fiscal year, he remarked.