BOLAN: Federal Railways Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said on Monday that the service including 360 trains is still operative despite recent floods and rains in the country.

Inspecting various railway stations in Balochistan, the minister said that the government intended to develop the railway system in Balochistan, which was established by the British rulers in thelate 1880s.

He said that the government had invited experts from Germany to prepare the feasibility report for Asia’s longest railroad tunnel between Chaman and Khozhak.

“President Musharraf has agreed to fulfill the demand of the people of Balochistan to start train services between Bostan and Zhob, which would later be connected to Peshawar. The government will spend Rs 8 billion on expanding the railroad network in Balochistan,” he said.

The minister said that train services in Balochistan had not been suspended in the recent floods. He said that Pakistan Railways (PR) had not suffered any serious losses in the floods. Damage to the tracks was minor, which the PR was capable of repairing, he added. He said that the government would provide better residential facilities to railway police personnel and the Frontier Corps (FC). He also promised that the next train service, whenever launched, would be launched from Balochistan to assure the people of the province of their participation in the development of the country.