• 38 passenger trains affected, online ticket booking system suspended
• Power supply restored after assurances over payments
• KE says Pakistan Railways “dishonoured” commitments

KARACHI: The dispute between the Pakistan Railways and K-Electric over outstanding dues intensified on Tuesday and power supply to railway installations was disconnected, which was quickly restored, after assurances of clearing the dues and timely payment of monthly bills.

Railways Divisional Superintendent (DS) Muhammad Nasir Khalili told journalists that the power supply was cut off in various colonies and important installations of the Pakistan Railways which severely affected the rail operations and suspended the online ticket booking system.

He said there was also a risk of shutdown of the automatic signalling system, which would have made it impossible to run passenger and goods trains on time.

As many as 38 passenger trains running daily from the city were affected.

The Pakistan Railways earns around Rs50 to 60 million per day from Karachi Division.

The DS said the railways claimed that K-Electric had to pay dues of around “Rs70 billion of last 10 years” and several notices had been issued to K-Electric, but no payment was made.

He said that many K-Electric installations (grid stations, substations, underground cables) were located on railways land, whose monthly bill was “Rs80 to Rs100 million”.

“In the last one year, K-Electric has not even paid the railways’ current dues of more than Rs1 billion.”

Mr Khalili said a final notice had been issued to K-Electric.

“If K-Electric does not pay its monthly dues, the Pakistan Railways will also stop paying K-Electric’s bills,” he added.

Meanwhile, the KE asked the Pakistan Railway authorities to clear outstanding dues of “Rs430 million accumulated against 31 connections since May 2024”, saying it was unsustainable to continue electricity supply without any payments.

A KE spokesman said that the power utility had previously served notices to the railways and disconnected defaulting connections on multiple occasions.

He said that the power supply had been restored on undertakings provided by the railway authorities with the assurance of clearing outstanding dues and timely payment of monthly bills.

“However, despite accommodating the Pakistan Railways, these commitments have been dishonoured time and again,” he added.

The spokesman said that in such circumstances, KE would have no option but to indefinitely disconnect defaulting connections until payments were received.

Published in Dawn, December 4th, 2024