Pakistan Railways has earned a record Rs115 billion in a single year, the first time in its history that annual revenue has passed the Rs100 billion mark, Railways Minister Hanif Abbasi said on Monday.

Abbasi announced the figure at Rawalpindi Railway Station, where he unveiled refurbished coaches for the Awam Express. He said the department's next target was to raise earnings to Rs160 billion by the end of the current financial year in June 2027.

Record year for passenger and freight

Official figures put Pakistan Railways' revenue for the 2025-26 financial year at Rs115.16 billion, up 24.2 percent on the previous year. The year before, revenue stood at Rs92.73 billion, and the year before that at Rs88.79 billion.

Passenger services brought in a record Rs50.59 billion, while freight earnings reached Rs40.78 billion, up 27.8 percent on the year. Revenue from property and land, commercial activity, scrap sales and other sources made up the rest of the total.

Abbasi said the Awam Express had previously been in poor condition and that the upgraded coaches would improve the journey for passengers. The train now runs with 11 refurbished coaches, according to reports of the ceremony.

Private operators and a bigger target

The minister said the government planned to involve the private sector more deeply in railway operations. In June, Pakistan Railways handed the commercial management of five passenger trains to private operators in a deal worth Rs10.75 billion. The five trains were the Awam Express, Millat Express, Karakoram Express, Mianwali Passenger and Narowal Passenger.

Abbasi also said railway hospitals would be handed to outside managers, while railway employees would continue to receive free medical treatment under the arrangement.

Reaching Rs160 billion by June 2027 would mean finding about Rs45 billion more than the record year, close to 40 percent extra. In the Senate on 30 October, Abbasi said the railway spends Rs84 to earn every Rs100 of revenue, a measure of how much room remains to improve efficiency even after the record year.

The minister has set freight revenue of Rs65 billion and passenger revenue of Rs60 billion as targets for the current financial year. Whether the department reaches its headline target will depend on freight growth, the private-operator deals and the planned upgrades to tracks and trains.

Abbasi also pointed to plans to revive eight branch routes and to keep modernising the network, including digital ticketing, train tracking and smart stations. For passengers, the test of the record year will be simpler: whether the upgraded coaches, the private operators and the promised investment turn into cleaner trains, more reliable timetables and a better journey on the routes people use every day.