By Syed Marwan Shah ISLAMABAD, May 20 (INP-WealthPK): Pakistan Railways (PR) can revive its fortunes by making use of the vast swathes of its land efficiently and adequately. Saddam Hussein, a research economist at the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE), told WealthPK that PR held over 168,000 acres of land across Pakistan. “If utilised properly through the public-private partnership model this land could help the railways come out of the financial crunch it has been mired in since decades. This will help the railways stand on its own feet.” “Modern cafes, stores, advertisement screens can be opened at huge railway stations to earn handsome profits. This could be done by involving private companies. This would not only bring revenues for railways but would also enhance the ambiance of the railway stations,” he added. The PIDE research economist said that the railway authorities would have to clear its land from encroachers to make its productive use. Talking about the railway revenues from lands, former railways minister Azam Khan Swati had told a Senate standing committee that PR had earned the highest revenue of Rs700 million by leasing the railway land in the first six months of the ongoing fiscal year. He told the Senate panel that the railways ministry had set a target of earning Rs2 billion in the last six months of the current fiscal year. Of the total 168,858 acres of land the PR possesses, Punjab has the most, 83,138 acres, accounting for 49% of the total, followed by Sindh with 45,663 acres, which is 27%. Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa possess 23,771 acres and 16,286 acres, respectively, which represent 14% and 10% of the total area. [caption id="attachment_67162" align="aligncenter" width="696"] Source: Pakistan Railways[/caption] Over 125,000 acres, or 75% of land, is under operational use; land reserved for future purposes is 17,283 acres; 4,385 acres are in use for railway stations and staff colonies and 10,792 acres are on lease for various purposes. However, 4,741 acres of railway land is under encroachments. Another 537 acres is under the use of slum dwellers (Katchi Abadis). Around 303 acres of land has commercial potential, and 4,391 acres are either lying barren or under agricultural use.   The following table shows the division-wise leasing out of the railway land, including agriculture (9,311 acres), residential (955 acres), commercial (221 acres), and other purposes (305 acres). [caption id="attachment_67163" align="aligncenter" width="696"] Source: Pakistan Railways[/caption]