By Rana Tanveer
Welcome to the third episode of our Data Discoveries series. After exploring pedestrian fatalities in the U.S. and transgender education data of Pakistan’s Punjab province, this time we’re turning our attention to Pakistan Railways.
In this episode, we’ll not only dive into the data but also guide you on where to find official datasets to enrich your stories. Whether you’re new to data journalism or looking to expand your toolkit, this episode will help you harness the power of data in your reporting.
Today, we’ll be using official data from Pakistan Railways’ latest Year Book (2022-2023). It’s important to note that Rule 25 of the Rules of Business, 1973, requires every Division of the Federal Government to prepare and upload an annual Year Book on its website, detailing its activities and achievements. These reports are valuable resources, containing information and datasets that journalists can use to create engaging and compelling stories.
One of the key datasets in the latest Pakistan Railways Year Book pertains to manned and unmanned crossings. This data is particularly significant given the frequency of incidents where vehicles/people are hit by trains at unmanned crossings in the country. Journalists should not view these small datasets in isolation but rather use them as a starting point to dig deeper and uncover more related information, leading to powerful investigative stories backed by data.
An unmanned railway crossing operates without a person controlling it, relying on automatic systems like lights, alarms, and barriers to manage traffic. However, in countries like Pakistan, these crossings often lack barriers altogether, requiring people to stop, look, and listen for trains before crossing, which can lead to accidents and tragic incidents.
Investigating beyond the numbers
As we mentioned earlier, journalists shouldn't consider this data in isolation. They should dig deeper into the issues by using their sources and making use of the RTI law. Given that Pakistan Railways is a federal entity, journalists can turn to the Right of Access to Information Act, 2017. By submitting RTI requests under this Act, they can ask the authorities for details this issue or explore any other topics they find important and worth investigating in the year book. When analyzing the dataset on unmanned railway crossings, it's important to identify the areas with the highest number of these crossings and correlate this information with accident data.

The human stories behind these statistics are crucial, as they provide insight into how communities are affected by accidents at unmanned crossings. Personal accounts from families, local residents, and railway workers can bring the data to life.
Uncovering untold stories
It's often observed that, apart from coverage related to accidents, investigative stories about the internal workings of Pakistan Railways are rare. Another dataset from the year book that stands out for investigation is the one on freight wagons. According to the book, Pakistan Railways had 14,104 freight wagons in the fiscal year 2021-22, but this number dropped to 13,301 in 2022-23. This decline is noteworthy and signals the need for deeper investigation into the workings of Pakistan Railways.
Beyond this, there are other pressing issues, such as the recovery of Rs. 611 million owed by provincial departments, oil companies, and telecom companies. These matters, along with revenue generation efforts, the number of passengers served, and the quality of services provided, deserve thorough scrutiny to understand the full scope of the challenges facing Pakistan Railways.