KARACHI: Pakistan can save billions of dollars in oil import bill by gradually moving to railroads.
According to Association of American Railroads (AAR), if just 10% of the freight moved by the largest trucks moved by rail instead, fuel savings would be more than 1.5 billion gallons per year and annual greenhouse gas emissions would fall by more than 17 million tons — equivalent to removing 3.2 million cars from the highways for a year or planting 400 million trees.
“Such an initiative would be a win-win situation for the country which is trying to revive loss making Pakistan Railways, protect highways by limiting axle load, and is also seriously striving for lowering greenhouse emissions to save the environment,” said Sharique, CEO of Pakistan International Bulk Terminal Ltd (“PIBT”).
“It means more revenue to Pakistan Railways and less cargo on highways, protecting the road networks while emitting less greenhouse gases,” he added.
Transportation of coal through roads is a major concern which is currently being transported from seaports to the factories and power plants through trucks which not only take much more time and money than railroads but are more likely to cause accidents and more damage to roads and the environment.
Pakistan’s coal imports are to surge to 20 million tons per annum by 2020 due to the planned expansion of cement manufacturers and coal-based power plants scheduled to come online in a couple of years.
The country is handling coal import as per global standards at Pakistan International Bulk Terminal (PIBT), which is the only dirty bulk cargo terminal with state-of-the-art mechanized system having capacity to handle 12 million tons/annum and will further expand to handle the increase in coal import.
However, transportation of this much coal from PIBT and other terminals to different destinations across the country through trucks is a major challenge.
“Using Railroads is the best way to transport goods with a reduced carbon footprint while also generating more money for railways which globally make money from freight, not passenger traffic, which is always subsidized,” said Sharique, CEO of Pakistan International Bulk Terminal Ltd (“PIBT”).
“Our policy makers must realize that our road infrastructure doesn’t support smooth transportation of such items like coal which requires sophistication and technical expertise,” he concluded.