ISLAMABAD:A requisitioned meeting of the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Railways held on Tuesday at Parliament House, Islamabad, under the Acting Chairmanship of Ramesh Lal, MNA.
The Committee reviewed matters relating to Pakistan Railways, including the Railway Board Bill, 2026, encroachments on railway land in Karachi Division, and recent railway accidents across the country.
The Committee considered the Bill titled ‘The Railway Board Bill, 2026, (Government Bill) and decided to defer its consideration until the next meeting of the Committee.
The Committee was briefed on recent railway accidents across the country. It was informed that 89 accidents had been reported from 1st January to 2nd November 2026, compared with 92 accidents during the corresponding period of 2025.
The major causes included track-related issues, rolling stock defects, human errors, road users’ violations by road users, sabotage, natural calamities and other operational failures. The Ministry highlighted that ageing railway infrastructure, inadequate development funding, trespassing, violations at level crossings and foggy weather were among the contributing factors. Pakistan Railways is striving to reduce the accident ratio to below 0.19% under its strategic roadmap.
The Committee was also briefed by the Ministry of Railways on the status of encroachments on railway land in Karachi Division. It was informed that, out of 19,594 acres of railway land, approximately 951.28 acres were under private encroachment, while 307 acres were under government encroachment.
The Department reported that 363.907 acres of land had been retrieved during the last four years. Furthermore, during July to October 2026, encroachments covering approximately 8.992 acres were removed, with an estimated value of Rs. 305.67 million. The Ministry also shared a comprehensive schedule for the removal of further encroachments during November 2026.
The Committee emphasized the importance of protecting valuable railway land from encroachments, ensuring effective coordination with provincial and local administrations, expediting land retrieval operations and taking concrete measures to improve railway safety. It also stressed the need for timely implementation of the Committee’s previous recommendations and further strengthening the overall operational efficiency of Pakistan Railways.
The meeting was attended by MNAs Ibrar Ahmed, Waseem Qadir, Munir Iqbal, Syeda Amnah Batool, Zulfikar Bachani, Sadiq Ali Memon, Dr. Mahreen Razzaq Bhutto, Syed Waseem Hussain and Ahmed Saleem Siddiqui.