[VIDEO] Pakistan's first major mass transit project opens in Lahore [Orange Line]

[MenInG]

LAHORE: The Orange Line Metro Train, the country’ first electricity-run mass transit project, was inaugurated on Sunday with the ruling PTI and opposition squabbling over the credit.

Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar, Chinese Consul General Long Dingbin and Transport Minister Jahanzeb Khan Khichi jointly inaugurated the project by pressing a button, allowing Punjab Mass Transit Authority (PMTA) to start commercial operation of the train service from Monday.

A similar ceremony was simultaneously held in Beijing where top authorities of National Develop*ment Reforms Commission, CR-Norinco and Chinese officials concerned inaugurated the project by pressing a button. It was also shown to the audience in Lahore through video link.

“Under the CPEC, Orange Line Metro Train has been inaugurated today for providing international standard transport facilities to the citizens. We think that the project will not only help strengthen urban development but also become a factor in the GDP growth,” Mr Buzdar said while speaking on the occasion.

“The PTI government has set a new political tradition by successfully completing the projects of the previous governments and did not let any project falling victim to politically differences.

Since the project is the first of its kind in Pakistan, the people from various walks of life were anxiously waiting for its opening.

“It is good to hear that the project has been completed and it is being opened for the people from Monday. I will definitely avail this modern facility since I used to go Chuburji from Thokar almost on a daily basis by motorcycle amid traffic chaos,” Anwar, a resident of a nearby locality, told Dawn at a soft-drink shop at Thokar intersection.

“I think many people will travel by the train since its route connects a number of residential and business areas,” he said.

The project is the first large-scale technologically advanced rail transit project under the Belt and Road Initiative and CPEC. The project was jointly undertaken by China State Railway Group Co. Ltd. and China North Industry Co. Ltd. (CR-NORINCO), with a total track length of 27.1 km and 26 stations, including two underground stations: one at Anarkali and the other at GPO.

A depot is located at Dera Gujran which is the northern end of the route and another at Ali Town located at the southern end of the route. The one-way fare is Rs40 and the end-to-end travel time will be 45 minutes.

The government expects the use of the facility by about 245,000 passengers on a daily basis.

In the past, the civil society held a series of protests, terming the project damaging for a number of heritage sites, including Shalamar Garden. Over 600 trees had to be cut to make way for the route.

Speaking on the occasion, CM Buzdar said the PTI government was also working on the completion of the collapsed/delayed projects of previous governments.

“Moreover, in order to operate the Orange Line Train service successfully, transparency has been ensured in the tendering of operational and maintenance works.

Speaking on the occasion, Chinese Consul General Long Ding Bin said the Punjab government had provided full support in the completion of the project, enabling the authorities to start commercial operation of the train service.

“I congratulate the Punjab government and the people of Pakistan on this occasion,” he said, terming the project a milestone of Pakistan-China friendship.

“This is the first state-of-the-art rail project in the country which has been successfully launched. This project has given a new dimension to Pakistan-China friendship as the CPEC project is the best example of partnership between Pakistan and China,” Provincial Minister for Transport Jehanzeb Khan Khichi said.

On the other hand, Dr Shahbaz Gill, SAPM (for political communication), termed the train service a failed project.

“The incompetent N-league is inaugurating the project as it has been funded by it. For running train, the government will have to pay Rs12 billion subsidy per annum. The operating cost will be Rs274 per ticket whereas the fare is Rs40,” he deplored in a tweet.

He said the Punjab government should declare the day (Orange Line Project inauguration) as Youm-i-Saug (day of mourning). “It is a failed project,” he said.

Published in Dawn, October 26th, 2020

 

[MenInG]

LAHORE: The Orange Line Metro Train (OLMT) project was inaugurated on Sunday amid the government and the Pakistan Muslim League - Nawaz (PML-N) both laying claim to its ownership.

Scheduled to be inaugurated by Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar, the Lahore's famed train project was 'inaugurated beforehand' by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leaders at Jain Temple.

Carrying pictures of PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif, party leaders and workers reached the Anarkali station where PML-N leader Khwaja Saad Rafique carried out the ribbon cutting.

Inaugurating the project separately, Buzdar said the OLMT was "a culmination of Pakistan-China friendship that began with the China - Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC)".

He said the metro project was a part of CPEC, which is a result of the decades-old friendship between the two neighbouring countries.

"It is the first transport project under CPEC and a gift to the people of Lahore," the Punjab CM said. He added that the Punjab government welcomes all development projects that may accompany the joint venture.

The chief minister further revealed that the OLMT project will be provided with a Rs15 billion subsidy by the provincial government.

The Opposition

Addressing PML-N workers, Rafique said that the former chief minister of Punjab and the founder of OLMT project, Shehbaz Sharif, is in jail under false accusations.

"Shehbaz is being convicted for demanding the rights of common man and improving the conditions of Punjab," Rafique added.

Questioning the incumbent government, the PML-N leader said that the delay in Orange Line train has costed the national exchequer billions of rupees.

Referring to the Pakistan Democratic Movement's (PDM) December 13th rally, scheduled to be held in Lahore, PML-N leader Ayaz Sadiq said that PTI’s judicial attacks have failed and all political parties have united against the government. He said the country would witness a "historic" rally in Lahore.

PML-N’s Ataullah Tarar also said that PTI had taken a deliberate stay order on the project to stop Shehbaz Sharif from inaugurating it.

Responding to the PML-N leader's actions and remarks, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Senator Shibli Faraz said CPEC was the project of people of Pakistan and not of any specific party.

In a tweet, he said PML-N's NAB victims were actually celebrating the plundering of national exchequer and public resources on the self-proclaimed inauguration of the orange train. He said that it was the people who had to bear the burden of expensive projects.

The Orange Line Metro Train comprises 26 stations and tracks spanning over 27.12km.This is the first electricity-run public transport project through which around 250,000 commuters will travel daily.

The train service is scheduled to start for general public from tomorrow.

This project is said to lessen transport load on Multan Road and provide 'world-class' public transport facility to Lahore's residents.

https://tribune.com.pk/story/2269843/orange-line-metro-inaugurated-amid-govt-pml-n-squabble

 

[Syed1]

A white elephant in which the government has to pay annual subsidy of Rs 15-20b just so the tickets aren't crazy expensive.

 

[MenInG]

A white elephant in which the government has to pay annual subsidy of Rs 15-20b just so the tickets aren't crazy expensive.

Really? I think its a good idea - something Karachi can also benefit from?

 

[Pakpak]

White elephant if there ever was one.

 

[Savak]

No Single Political party thinks about whether a project is beneficial for Pakistan even if launched by another party, its all a credit and blame game.

 

[King-Misbah]

Really? I think its a good idea - something Karachi can also benefit from?

Who should fund it and sustain it? Am not a fan of unsustainable projects.

 

[Bewal Express]

Whilst all transport projects require a subsidy to some extent, this Will cost around $80mn a year to subsidise. When you have no clean water, isnt that excessive

 

[Nadeemp]

If it can be sustained in the next few years, its a great move. Lahore could use less cars on the road. Karachi next please

 

[The Viper]

 

[Bigboii]

 

[FearlessRoar]

Orange Line fails to live up to expectations​

Regardless of how up-to-date a transit system is, until or unless it closely considers the popular travel routes of the passengers, it can neither gain popularity nor reduce the city's heavy reliance on private transport.

Initiated in 2016 under the supervision of the Sindh Mass Transit Authority (SMTA), the Orange Line Bus Rapid Transit Project was a 4-kilometer-long bus route from Orangi Town Office to the Matriculation Board Office Chowrangi. Although the project was expected to reach completion by 2017, the lack of interest in part of the Sindh government meant that it had to be shelved for the next six years, until 2022, when it was finally completed.

During this time, the cost of the project was revised twice, with its final budget touching Rs5.5 billion, after including the purchase, maintenance and operational charges of 20 buses alongside the extension of the project to Nagan Chowrangi. As result of the SMTA's inability to arrange qualified staff for operating a bus rapid transit system, the entire logistics of the Orange Line were handed over to the federal government's Sindh Infrastructure Development Company Limited (SIDCL) for three years.

According to a survey conducted by The Express Tribune, even after the passage of three years since the initiation of the Orange Line, the project has still not caught the attention of passengers. Despite a low fare and good travelling conditions, the bus which runs from 7am to 10pm, only receives a daily influx of 500 to 1,000 people, even though the project is designed to accommodate at least 50,000 passengers on a regular basis.

Ahmed Khan, a passenger traveling through the Orange Line confirmed that due to the short distance route, very few passengers travelled by the bus. "Although a rush of passengers is observed during fixed hours, on Saturdays and Sundays or on other holidays, the bus is almost vacant," shared Khan.

"The Orange Line is a flawed project of the Sindh government, which has wasted billions of rupees. During the construction, the citizens of Orangi Town and North Nazimabad were troubled for six years but today only a few passengers travel by it. Until or unless, the project is extended to Numaish Chowrangi by connecting it with the Green Line, it will not be a success," opined Chairman of Orangi Town Union Council 4, Atta Rabbi.

Regional Planner Dr Syed Nawazul Huda agreed that the Orange Line reflected the poor planning of the Sindh government. "The Orange Line should have been made functional up to Numaish Chowrangi from the beginning. Under the recommendations of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), six lines of the Bus Rapid Transit System, Karachi Circular Railway and Bus Feeder Service System are to be established in Karachi. This mass transit system is interconnected and will be successful only when it is fully completed," implored Dr Nawaz.

According to sources from the Sindh government, the provincial government had long released Rs40 million to the SIDCL for the extension of the Orange Line to Nagan Chowrangi however, due to their lack of interest, work was delayed.

Sindh Mass Transit Authority's (SMTA) Managing Director Kamal Hakim Daio informed that the Sindh government will take over the Green and Orange Line projects in February. "At present, SIDCL is working on extending the Orange Line to Nagan Chowrangi, which will be completed this month. The Orange Line will also be connected to the Green Line and extended to Numaish Chowrangi soon," said Daio.

Orange Line fails to live up to expectations | The Express Tribune

Orange Line fails to live up to expectations

tribune.com.pk