HYDERABAD: Hyderabad SITE Association of Trade and Industry Chairman Zubair Ghangra has expressed concern over what he described as the extremely poor and alarming condition of the Hyderabad Railway Station.
In a statement issued on Sunday, he said that unfortunately, the historical central railway station of Hyderabad presented a picture of the 19th century, causing serious inconvenience not only to the general passengers but also to the business and industrial community.
He lamented that during the last monsoon season, the roof of the waiting area of the railway station collapsed and despite the passage of a considerable time, it had yet to be restored. He said this reflected sheer negligence of the authorities and their apathy towards the safety of passengers.
He pointed out that the overall condition outside the station was equally deplorable, with a visible lack of cleanliness, poor drainage and deteriorating basic infrastructure.
The parking area, in particular, had no proper lighting, creating severe difficulties for passengers, especially women and elderly citizens, he said. Ghangra emphasised that Hyderabad was one Sindh’s major industrial and commercial cities, with hundreds of industries operating in the SITE area.
Unfortunately, the city’s main railway station failed to reflect its economic significance, he added. He stressed that if the Pakistan Railways genuinely aimed to improve its service standards and enhance revenue generation, it must immediately upgrade the railway station of a large and vibrant city like Hyderabad.
He also called for establishing a cargo train point in Hyderabad stating that it had become an urgent necessity as this would enable industrialists from the SITE area and other industrial zones to directly utilize the Hyderabad Railway Station for their import and export consignments.
Such an initiative would significantly reduce logistics costs for industries, lessen dependence on Karachi and at the same time generate substantial additional revenue for the Pakistan Railways through enhanced cargo services, he maintained.
He stated that if proper cargo facilities, loading and unloading points and warehousing arrangements were developed at the Hyderabad Railway Station, it could be transformed into an effective logistics hub for the central Sindh.
Along with this, the immediate repair of waiting areas, provision of adequate lighting in parking and surrounding areas, improved cleanliness arrangements, better track and platform maintenance, and overall digitization of the station systems had become unavoidable, he said.
Ghangra urged the federal minister for railways and senior authorities to take immediate notice of the deteriorating condition of the railway station and implement a clear short-term and mid-term plan to transform the historical station into a modern, safe and business-friendly facility.
