PSO halts diesel supply to Railways as cheque bounces

LAHORE: Pakistan State Oil (PSO) has suspended the supply of diesel to Pakistan Railways after a cheque issued by the latter to the former bounced here on Saturday, Geo News reported.

The sources quoted Pakistan Railways authorities as saying that the fuel crisis triggered by this latest supply halt could put branch-line trains out of service for some time.

“This suspension is a bad news for the local trains as Railways does not have enough diesel in reserve to make up for the shortfall”, said an official on the basis of anonymity.

The Railways officials say the emergent situation has forced them to buy diesel from the open market with the revenue generated by the sales of seat reservations (selling tickets for advance bookings).

"We will do whatever we can to keep the trains running. We will not let our passengers down", said he.