It is quite a time ago I did not hear about this project in the media
Can someone provide the latest status

RAZA

http://www.american-maglev.com/presentations/Web_Karachi.pdf

KARACHI: Team to survey mass transit


By Our Staff Reporter

KARACHI, May 3: A two-member team of a joint venture arrived in the city to carry out survey of corridor-I for the magnetic train operation, and is likely to hold a meeting with the city nazim at his office on Wednesday to discuss the project. The team, comprising Japanese consultant Junji Scibata and Mr Fritz, visited the office of the Karachi Mass Transit Project (KMTP) where they were briefed about corridor-I. They later visited the area from Sohrab Goth to the Merewether Tower, the Deputy Director, KMTP Anwar Beg told Dawn.

He said the two consultants were associated with Pacific Consultants International, and were hired by a joint venture of American Maglev and the Infrastructure Development Company (IDC).

Their local partner was the Engineering Associates, who had arranged the survey with the permission of their partners, he added.

Mr Beg said the consultants had told the meeting at the KMTP office that they would count vehicles passing on the route and the number of passengers travelling through public transport.

The team would also carry out a survey to know the opinion of people after preparing the pre-designed questionnaire before forecasting the expected ridership of the Maglev train.


http://www.dawn.com/2005/05/04/local10.htm

KARACHI: Corridor-I survey completed


By Our Staff Reporter

KARACHI, May 4: The Space and Upper Atmospheric Research Commission (Suparco) on Wednesday handed over the topographic survey of the Karachi rail-based mass transit Corridor-I – between the Sohrab Goth and Mereweather Tower – to the city government. The document was presented to the City Nazim, Niamatullah Khan, by Suparco Chairman Maj-Gen (Retd) Raza Hassan Hussain at the Civic Centre. A briefing was also held.

DCO Fazalur Rehman, DG of the Karachi Mass Transit Cell Malik Zaheerul Islam and divisional head of Suparco Javaid Ali were among those present.

Though Suparco had been assigned the task of undertaking the survey in Sep 2004, it signed an agreement with the city government in this regard only on Wednesday.

The nazim on this occasion formed an eight-member committee to work out modalities and consider Suparco’s offer of developing a digital map of Karachi, GIS (Geographical Information System) of various city government departments, and tracking and monitoring of their vehicles for the Tameer-i-Karachi Programme.

The committee will be headed by DCO Fazalur Rehman, and KMTC’s Director General Malik Zaheer-ul-Islam will act its secretary-cum-member. Other members include city government EDOs of Revenue, Information Technology, Finance and Planning, Master Plan and DOs (Coordination and Human Resource Management).

The KMTC’s Director General, Malik Zaheerul Islam, told the meeting that a detailed topographical survey was required to obtain updated infrastructural information for implementing the rail-based mass transit system for Corridor-I, and Suparco, whose bid was the lowest, was awarded a contract in this regard in Sep 2004.

The Suparco Chairman, Maj-Gen (Retd), Raza Hassan Hussain, assured the city government that any shortcoming, if found, in the topographical survey of the Karachi rail-based Mass Transit (Corridor-I) would be removed.

The Suparco’s divisional head, Javaid Ali, informed the meeting that Suparco conducted lose traverse surveys throughout the corridor merely to ensure the accuracy of the topographic maps and permanent benchmarks.

He said with a view to ensure the accuracy of heights above mean sea-level of all permanent monuments, double level survey was carried out throughout the corridor. Besides, cross-section level data was collected at regular intervals along with measurement of widths.

He said that two depot areas – one railway yard at the Mereweather Tower and the other at Sohrab Goth – were also surveyed although there were not included in terms of reference of the survey.

Elaborating, he said that the total length of the topographical survey corridor was 17 km including one km on either side of the two ends.

The corridor was aligned from Sohrab Goth to Mereweather Tower via Water Pump, Aisha Manzil, Karimabad, Dakkhana, Tin Hatti, Guru Mandir, Old Numaish, Jamia Cloth market and New Memon Masjid.

The extent of survey along both flanks of the roadway was defined as building line to building line in built-up area and 125 metres in the roads from the centre line and 250m on major intersections whereas the width of the cross-section level was kept at 25m for the entire route.


http://www.dawn.com/2005/05/05/local6.htm

I wish this project well and an early start and completion. IA.

I think its really sad how the Pakistani media and the people on this forum are so ignorant to the fact that American Maglev is a big hoax. This company has never EVER created a maglev system anywhere in the world, except for its test site on a Florida University I believe. The Test failed miserably as this cheaper American Magnetic Technology failed and was not able to glide smoothly at high speeds as does the real Maglev train in Shanghai.

It is really sad how politicians in Karachi or Pakistan as a whole are just taking citizens for a ride to nowhere by claiming a MAGLEV system. This company is pathetic, it had to lay off all of its workers and only the owner sits in his home office in Florida and runs the company himself. This is because the government cut his funding when the tests failed, and even the U.S. government did not bother to use American Maglev technology for its own high-speed rail projects.


I dunno whats going on here. But I do know that I would not hold your breath for a ground breaking of Karachi Maglev system any time soon. It is mere imagery. It seems like Lahore has a better chance with its monorail project with support from REAL EXISTING and operating Malayasian corporations.

Yeah I dont understand why the government had to go and sign up for such a sham company myself! Even their website isnt professional. And a maglev would no doubt be out of the reach of the common Pakistani to be able to afford! Not to mention, that any magnetic levitation train travels at high speeds and is not suitable for frequent stops that should be needed for within-city transit. I think the city nazim should better clarify this matter soon, I am going to write to Dawn and to Mr. Cowasjee about it. Anybody else concerned, also please do so.

There was an older thread on this with a lot of discussion, in which I also participated.

1. This proposal should not be fully dismissed out of hand, though there are issues with it. While American Maglev itself is an unknown company without any established credibility, it claims Siemens, Lockheed Martin etc. as partners for the project. These are large, multi-billion dollar companies. Siemens has experience in this too - the Shanghai project was built by a subsidiary of Siemens.

2. While it is true that high-speed Maglevs are unsuitable for intra-city transport, it does not need to be a 'high-speed' Maglev for the intra-city system. The claimed advantage of Maglev include not just speed but also energy-efficiency. There is thus, some logic for using a Maglev even in a city transit system, though such advantages have not enticed cities to invest in such a system till now. The only operational commercial Maglev today is the Shanghai one and that operates as a high-speed airport-city link. However, the fact that the Chinese Govt. has cancelled the longer Shanghai-Beijing maglev that was being planned (and replaced it with a conventional high-speed rail link instead) suggests that perhaps all is not well with the technology. The Shanghai maglev itself has had problems with the technology as well as the ridership.

3. The economics of mass transit militate against any privately operated system. Most metros worldwide are subsidized by Governments - they are not really viable for operation as a private operation. The exception of a profitable, privately operated metroo is the Hong Kong MTR. But even that has implicit subsidies since it derives its profits from its real estate operations - the Govt. gave it prime land to develop and that is a form of subsidy too. In Bangkok, for instance, they built a system privately, but ridership has been pathetically low till now, primarily because the prices required to recover costs deterred most passengers. I don't think there would be more than a handful of passengers in Karachi who would be willing to shell out the equivalent of two dollars for a trip (which would anyway involve other modes and additional expense unless both their homes and offices are adjacent to metro stations).

4. This proposal still does not address the concern of many that any elevated structure on the M.A.Jinnah Road would destroy the urban cityscape. The downtown portion of this road has important buildings and monuments including the Jinnah Mausoleum, Frere Hall, Mereweather Tower etc.. A concrete guideway there would destroy the vista that one has. It can be argued that an aesthetically pleasing guideway can actually enhance the vista, but there are opponents (and influential ones) to any elevated project along the way - to them an underground section is necessary at least from Tower to the Jinnah tomb. The Maglev can also be potentially built underground for part of Line 1, but will add hugely to costs. Further, an underground Maglev has not been tried out before - there are technical issues to deal with.

You guys its a fact that a maglev will be built a canadian company was supposed to build it but they couldnt come up with a viable design.

Grrrrrr. Why can't Karachi follow the Lahore example ? Use something 'reliable'. Don't go after 'bankrupt' companies. Lahore is going to invest in a monorail, and construciton on the project would hopefully begin this year. The technology is Malaysian, and has been deployed in Kuala Lumpur. It also works perfect. I don't think there is a need of 'Maglev', as swerveut said, the common man won't be able to afford it.

Karachi needs to go for a monorail system. They should go for the same deal as the Lahoris. A reliable monorail network. Karachi needs a corruption watch. I'm not willing to ride that failed monorail system whenever its done.

I hope this company looses the contract, and a new company with a 'reliable' system is appointed.

Write to the president - presidentofpakistan.gov.pk

http://www.utu.org/worksite/detail_news.cfm?ArticleID=10670
http://home.hamptonroads.com/stories/story.cfm?story=61566&ran=244251
http://home.hamptonroads.com/stories/story.cfm?story=85025&ran=183839

I dont think we really need this technology right now. This seems more like a second or third generation transit project that should have been followed later on. But right now, it is just a white elephant and I think Karachi just needs something that actually WORKS right now.

As Sridhar said, this technology might work and should not be completely dismissed, but it is still under development and would need a lot of money pumped into it so it can go into even an experimental stage. The company ran out of its US federal grants of millions of dollars even before it could make its Old Dominion University project functional. I dont think Karachiites have that much money to be able to afford its development costs and then pay high fares on its travel at the moment.

Forumers, I would again request you to write to newspapers like Dawn or Jang or write to Mr. Cowasjee or other columnists. You can write through emails as well. But we need to raise more awareness of this ligitimate issue.

I really have to agree, I seriously have doubts about American Maglev Co.

Just a small notice, they dont even have proper pictures of their "Magnetic" train. Its just that one picture that their using on their site and their ads.

The other pictures are just of a common Mono-rail, nothing Magnetic about that.

I actually wouldnt mind if they use the new KCR trains, which are pretty good as I heard. Their much similar to the Subway trains used in most Modern Cities. So I wouldnt mind riding in that.

why not go back to the canadian firm who is building the wind farms in punjab to make the Maglev?

Ok so they fell 1 month behind of the project so what!

Actually those pictures are in fact of the magnetic train that they built for Old Dominion University, and it is an authentic project. But it is still in the research stages and was not really successful in all their trials. They ran out of funds before they could get it to work and then afterwards, a lot of the companies sued them which put them further into debt.
What my concern is that the Karachi Government has assigned a contract to an as yet undeveloped technology so the system that American Maglev sets up in Karachi would be an experimental system which we cannot afford. Also, there are big chances that it might not work as well and the company would be forced to take its project down or leave it undeveloped due to funds running out before they can get it to work. That way it will be a huge loss for the government and for the city.

Maglev technology is something I really dont understand. How much energy is really lost in friction between the rail and the train wheels? I'm pretty sure most energy in high speed travel is lost through air resistance, and not through contact with the ground.

I don't really see the point of using Maglev trains that move at the speed of like 400km/h for a track that will be only 18km long. A 100km track would be more suffcient for Maglev trains.

Thats why Maglev technology is more suitable for intercity transit rather than intra city transit.
Answering Aryan's post, a lot of the energy is wasted in countering air resistance but most of the enegrgy is probably lost in the friction between mechanical components, tracks, wheels and etc. Also, air resistance can be minimized through good aerodynamic designing.

I think everyone is getting ahead of themselves....the BASIC point to remember is that the Karachi City Government signed a contract with a company that is:

1. Bankrupt
2. Lost funding from the United States Federal Government
3. Has failed to create a working model on 1 km track at an American University....in fact the model failed miserably
4. Investors like LOCK-HEAD Martin have diassociated themselves with American Maglev after the claims of FRAUD
5. Most transportation experts have HEAVILY critized the owner for trying to sell a product that does not exist or has no working model to developing countries.... (SO FAR KARACHI is the ONLY city in the world that has agreed to it)
6. THIS IS NOT THE REAL MAGLEV that is in SHANGHAI that travels like 400 km/hour.....it reaches only top speeds of 150 - 200 at most....and so far it has not been able to be operational has the train does not glide smoothly on the track. (Hence the reason for the failed test in Florida)
7. The University supporting the test project has requested the company to remove the track from the Campus (MOST ARE COMPLAINING THE TRACKS are UGLY and besides it doesn't work>>))
8. The AMERICAN Gov't is not using American Maglev technology at ALL....its has opeted with a Canadian company's high speed rail project and even that at best is an INTER CITY SYSTEM (hence its make NO SENSE for an 18km tracks with several stations travelling at a highspeed)
9. The COMPANY is a ONE MAN SHOW as the dude who runs it has had to lay-off everyone and there is some indication that he has folded the company, as a journalist from the UNIVERSITY with the test site, visited his office in Florida only to find a ONE MAN SHOW operating a completly unrelated business with no SIGNS or any indication of the existence of AMERICN MAGLEV.

I think KARACHI citizens are being taken for a ride....SAD thing is there are still some people especially on URBANPAKISTAN.com that believe that Karachi will be getting there maglev/monorail system through this SHAM of a company......as well as the recent articiles in the Pakistani media support this claim....

I DUNNO what this means....that WE as CITIZENS stink at questioning the government, or are KARACHI politicians REALLY DUMB and oblivious, or is our MEDIA completly shitty that it will take the word of uneducated politicians in believing and propgating this KARACHI MASS TRANSIT lie.

I seriously think we dont even need a Magnetic train. I mean how long does it take to go from Defence/Clifton to say .. Tariq Road?

It takes hardly 30mins (If you take Sharea Faisal)

And its not like Karachi is spread far and wide, we can easily do with a Monorail or even with the current local trains.

As I mentioned in the other thread, create Mono-rail tracks on Sharea Faisal, let it go from Airport - Metropole with stations in between, im pretty sure that would be a better idea.

Urbanpakistan is infact doing a disservice to Pakistan for not letting anybody question governmental policies.

As far as other discerning forum members go, PLEASE WRITE! I have already mailed Mr. Cowasjee and Dawn editorial about it, but it will take more requests before we can bring this out to light. PLEASE PLAY A PART. CONTRIBUTE towards being a good Pakistani National. IT IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT that people know what is going on and what direction they are headed. Especially when it comes to a major project such as Karachi Mass Transit. :soapbox:

lol

Well who knows i am going in that area in June and will see what all the fuss is about unless they remove the track

i should point out that i find it highly unlikely that AMT is taking the karachi government for a ride. this is not some half ass attempt by the CDGK to find a mass transit solution for the city. they've been doing research on this now for well over two years. musharraf has been taking a personal interest in it, so you can imagine that this is a very high profile project. having said that, as far as AMT itself is concerned, as someone notes, this is a company that has siemens and lockheed martin as partners. the rumors that these companies have abandoned seem unsubstantiated. i will share an email that i recieved from the president about a month ago, since i too have been following this project. he seems confident in his company's abilities. it seems to be someones delusions if they think AMT can be surviving in the US as a company with fraudulent technology and a one man show.

this was addressed to me:

Thank you for your interest in American Maglev.

You can be assured that nothing will get built in Karachi without
appropriate safeguards and guarantees. Since this is a project
developed under BOT, we are solely and totally responsible for
financing, not the government.

Obviously, we are certain that this technology is exactly right for
Karachi. All the false assumptions and misconceptions about our
company, our funding, and our technology create lots of doubts for you,
but please be assured that we have none.

Again, thank you for your interest in American Maglev.

Best regards,

American Maglev Technology, Inc.

i should point out that i find it highly unlikely that AMT is taking the karachi government for a ride. this is not some half ass attempt by the CDGK to find a mass transit solution for the city. they've been doing research on this now for well over two years. musharraf has been taking a personal interest in it, so you can imagine that this is a very high profile project. having said that, as far as AMT itself is concerned, as someone notes, this is a company that has siemens and lockheed martin as partners. the rumors that these companies have abandoned seem unsubstantiated. i will share an email that i recieved from the president about a month ago, since i too have been following this project. he seems confident in his company's abilities. it seems to be someones delusions if they think AMT can be surviving in the US as a company with fraudulent technology and a one man show.
EXACTLY.

i should point out that i find it highly unlikely that AMT is taking the karachi government for a ride. this is not some half ass attempt by the CDGK to find a mass transit solution for the city. they've been doing research on this now for well over two years. musharraf has been taking a personal interest in it, so you can imagine that this is a very high profile project. having said that, as far as AMT itself is concerned, as someone notes, this is a company that has siemens and lockheed martin as partners. the rumors that these companies have abandoned seem unsubstantiated. i will share an email that i recieved from the president about a month ago, since i too have been following this project. he seems confident in his company's abilities. it seems to be someones delusions if they think AMT can be surviving in the US as a company with fraudulent technology and a one man show.

WOW!
The company's President answered that email for you??
now I am convinced this company is a sham.

WOW!
The company's President answered that email for you??
now I am convinced this company is a sham.

:hahaha:

WOW!
The company's President answered that email for you??
now I am convinced this company is a sham.

thats the most ignorant thing i've heard in quite a while. well done.

thats the most ignorant thing i've heard in quite a while. well done.

Not really. Cause if American Maglev really is that big of a deal of a company, it should be having some staff for customer enquiries and what not rather than having the president of a company answering everybody's emails. Just gives out a lot of information about their state of affairs.
Makes you wonder where they will dig up enough finances to build the project. Even if on a BOT basis. Btw, try running a search for American Maglev on either of Siemens or Lockheed Martin's websites.

Edited by myself.

For the record, I only posted a news article from a Pakistani newspaper, with the explicit clarification that I don't know the veracity of the facts there. But since it has caused so much heartburn amongst some, I am editing it out. If somebody else is interested, they can post it.

Why do I even bother putting in the effort, creating a map for the Karachi's mass transit network (whose copy is even being used by the official KCR website) or suggesting improvements to the people involved in the projects or to urban planners! With such a hostile reception for something completely ordinary, let me withdraw from this thread entirely.

In spite of such hostility, my best wishes to you. Good day!

INDIAN NEWSPAPER

INDIAN POSTING IT


INDIAN BULLSHIT WITH NO TRUE FACTS!

If dawn or Geo didnt report it

then it clearly doesnt exist because our media is so anti gov they would pounce on something like this

Why dont you Indian bullshitters die like in 1965?

INDIAN NEWSPAPER

INDIAN POSTING IT


INDIAN BULLSHIT WITH NO TRUE FACTS!

If dawn or Geo didnt report it

then it clearly doesnt exist because our media is so anti gov they would pounce on something like this

Why dont you Indian bullshitters die like in 1965?

:weird:

Your on the wrong side of the border buddy

SkyscraperCity Forums > Local Forums > Asian Skyscraper Forums > Local and Regional Communities > Mehfil Pakistan > Mega Projects and Construction
Karachi Mass Transit

Your on the wrong side of the border buddy

SkyscraperCity Forums > Local Forums > Asian Skyscraper Forums > Local and Regional Communities > Mehfil Pakistan > Mega Projects and Construction
Karachi Mass Transit

:omg:

You Indians are so pathetic thats why you also pissed your pants in Kargil

INDIAN NEWSPAPER

INDIAN POSTING IT


INDIAN BULLSHIT WITH NO TRUE FACTS!

If dawn or Geo didnt report it

then it clearly doesnt exist because our media is so anti gov they would pounce on something like this

Why dont you Indian bullshitters die like in 1965?

You are retarded.

Props to Sridhar for being upfront and straightforward.
PakistanUnited, please go to school again so you can pass third grade.

Ahem :)

Now if the mudslinging has died down a bit -- let me chime in with a few thoughts.

1. Mass transit does not *NEED* rail or railcars -- per se. Articulated Buses work great and they can empty passengers on platforms just as well. Buses are also 1/10th the cost to buy or maintain. Why does a city NEED rail ??

2. In Colombia (Bogota) the Transmilenio System carries passengers just fine with buses -- see Pictures below.

http://web.transmilenio.gov.co/transmilenio/images/station_acaracas_1.jpg

http://web.transmilenio.gov.co/transmilenio/images/danielsson.jpg

http://web.transmilenio.gov.co/transmilenio/images/estacion_vistasup.jpg

3. If you have a simple system -- then the multinationals (Siemens Alstom et al) or scummy cos. like Maglev outfits cannot skin your taxpayers. But percentages will be there anyhow (Mushy, Bhutto, Zardari whomever...). Only the kickback amounts will be lower.

4. The Transmilenio uses articulated buses (130 passenger capacity) travelling on special high speed lanes closed to other traffic. The frequent stops are platforms just like the light rail systems. It was conceived by the former mayor of Bogota who was sort of a populist and did not like multinationals imposing their expensive ideas on third-world nations. The sytem has been in service for over twenty years now. The buses are Volvos and MBZ's and most of them are contracted. Meaning govt. is _NOT_ involved in the maintenance or repair of vehicles. Excellent idea IMO.

PLUS -- the biggest advantage -- vehicles have flexibility and aren't restricted to fixed routes or rail lines....

5. MAGLEV costs about a 100 times more per passenger mile than light-rail which itself is ten times more expensive than closed-lane bus systems. I think it will actually be way cheaper to transport people in Benz limousines rather than carrying them in Maglev systems. And the limousines are a lot more fun !

6. A year back the Rail minister (nincompoop) in Bangladesh proposed this idea which he quickly retracted after virulent opposition by informed people in the media. I don't think people of their ilk want to take Bangladesh to the cutting edge of technology (if that ever meant anything ;)). They simply want to maximize their kickbacks. Very succinct and very selfish.

Any questions?

^^^^^^^^^

The idea above can indeed resolve lots of traffic problems in a very cost effective way......having said that it may be difficult to implement. The reason is that busy cities like Karachi (especially the old parts of the city)may not have wide enough roads to create two extra tracks for these buses.

What do you think guys?

My thoughts exactly. The traffic conditions in karachi are already too bad. Also buses will prove to be very slow (both speed and accelaration) for a large city.

What a f**king joke. I was a little sceptical at first, but looking at the website, and it just made me laugh. The website looks like its been set up by a 12 year old, and for a latest technological innovations, why aren't there any contacts other than the president and CEO?

The only very very small thing that makes me believe that it might be real, is the fact I doubt anyone could be stupid enough to try and pull this off. A scam might work against a company, but against a government? Yeah right. One phone call to the white house will bring this "Tony Morrison" (obviously a pseudonym) on the next flight to an ISI torture chamber.

"Lockheed Martin believes American Maglev has the potential to be at least a $200 billion industry."

What a joker!

Manbil, I just read your post, excellent! Why don't we just scrap the whole Metro project, and employ a mass of double decker buses? They would be cheaper, we would not have to wait 5-10 years for the system to be built, and they would be able to reach residential areas. Bus services are actually profitable, unlike rail metro sytems.

Might not be fancy and impressive, but it would save our economy a fortune, making it the wisest option.

Manbil, I just read your post, excellent! Why don't we just scrap the whole Metro project, and employ a mass of double decker buses? They would be cheaper, we would not have to wait 5-10 years for the system to be built, and they would be able to reach residential areas. Bus services are actually profitable, unlike rail metro sytems.

Might not be fancy and impressive, but it would save our economy a fortune, making it the wisest option.
Would create more traffic and we already have buses running

i think we should use the same company thats doing lahores mass transit system

Manbil, I just read your post, excellent! Why don't we just scrap the whole Metro project, and employ a mass of double decker buses? They would be cheaper, we would not have to wait 5-10 years for the system to be built, and they would be able to reach residential areas. Bus services are actually profitable, unlike rail metro sytems.

Might not be fancy and impressive, but it would save our economy a fortune, making it the wisest option.

Just having Double decker bus for a city of 10 or 12 plus million wont do any good. What happens when its a bottle neck grid lock traffic. You need elevated & underground fast moving metro to take the load off. Plus, Karachiites will have choice between rail or road. If this choice is not given, karachiites will prefer being stuck on the road in their own vehicle rather than public transport. Metro is the only long term solution for Karachi however long they have to wait. If you want 5000 double decker bus running, you better widen every major road into 10 lane expressway but again impossible in todays day & age.

Just having Double decker bus for a city of 10 or 12 plus million wont do any good. What happens when its a bottle neck grid lock traffic. You need elevated & underground fast moving metro to take the load off. Plus, Karachiites will have choice between rail or road. If this choice is not given, karachiites will prefer being stuck on the road in their own vehicle rather than public transport. Metro is the only long term solution for Karachi however long they have to wait. If you want 5000 double decker bus running, you better widen every major road into 10 lane expressway but again impossible in todays day & age.
How very true

Well, we could do some sort of congestion charge scheme like London is doing, to discourage people to use their cars. Plus the whole purpose of any public transport system is to reduce traffic and congestion.

Yes but we already have buses dont we?

This will just be a more organized busing then

BTW i think we need elevate monorail

I dont like the idea of elevated monorail, no matter how attractive the KL system looks. I'd rather go for an underground system, that would also serve as a bomb shelter.

And of course, don't forget, apart from those who live close to a metro station, most people would require at least one bus to reach their nearest station anyway.

I dont like the idea of elevated monorail, no matter how attractive the KL system looks. I'd rather go for an underground system, that would also serve as a bomb shelter.

And of course, don't forget, apart from those who live close to a metro station, most people would require at least one bus to reach their nearest station anyway.
We cant build a underground system in Karachi because if you have ever been thier you would notice that the soil is really unstable

All the Mass transit systems proposed in Lahore, Karachi, Peshawer, Islamabad and New Muree are all elevated.

The later phases of the KMT Project is all underground; go read it. The first few phases will either be ground or elevated because some parts of underground Karachi is too unstable for underground tunnels.

The circular railway is part of the KMT Project which has already began. The mass transit underground system is still sketchy. Have they even started phase 1 even?

were have you been cntower

Cntower, are they actually thinking of building an underground network in Karachi? Because i heard from some people that there is some kind of problem with soil in Karachi.

only Few areas will be Underground

What do you mean by the soil being unsuitable for tunnelling?

What do you mean by the soil being unsuitable for tunnelling?

i dnt really understand that either.

What do you mean by the soil being unsuitable for tunnelling?
The soil is very loose in Karachi

Plus the moisture in the air also causes problems.

Neither of the above are reasons for a city not being suitable for a subway system.

I dont really think thats a big problem, after all when the Subway stations/routes are completed its not like theyll be just left alone, itll be constructed in such a way that the soil does not disturb it, if you know what i mean

Few areas will be Underground

Any updates on Karachi Mas transit work?

http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_...ontent_id=93737 CHECK OUT THIS WEBSITE INDIA IS LOOKING TO INTRIDUCE MAGLEV TRAINS 500 KPH.IT WILL ONLY TAKE 3 HOURS FROM MUMBAI TO DELHI.

NEW DELHI, JUNE 13: In the not too distant future, you may be able to take a train from Mumbai and arrive in Delhi in less than three hours — thanks to maglev (magnetic levitation) trains that will hurtle down the tracks at speeds of up to 500 kph.

According to sources, the rail ministry is considering a proposal from a US-based NRI group to start maglev trains in India. The cost of building the line: a jaw-dropping $30 billion. The NRI group has been sending feelers to railway minister Lalu Prasad in this connection. The group wants to make a presentation before the minister, highlighting the advantages of the magnetic levitation technology.

The proposal is at a preliminary stage. However, if it is cleared by the ministry, the Delhi-Mumbai corridor would be taken up for implementation at an estimated cost of $30 billion (approximately Rs 1,35,000 crore). Pillars would be set up from Mumbai to New Delhi for laying the tracks. The minister may discuss the proposal internally next week.

HOW U PAKISTANIS FEEL HAHAHAHAHAH. U R STILL GONABE USING THOSE OLD SHIT FUCKED UP TRAING 5KMPH.

ATLEAST INDIA IS GETTING SOMEWHERE

BLAH

http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_...ontent_id=93737 CHECK OUT THIS WEBSITE INDIA IS LOOKING TO INTRIDUCE MAGLEV TRAINS 500 KPH.IT WILL ONLY TAKE 3 HOURS FROM MUMBAI TO DELHI.

NEW DELHI, JUNE 13: In the not too distant future, you may be able to take a train from Mumbai and arrive in Delhi in less than three hours — thanks to maglev (magnetic levitation) trains that will hurtle down the tracks at speeds of up to 500 kph.

According to sources, the rail ministry is considering a proposal from a US-based NRI group to start maglev trains in India. The cost of building the line: a jaw-dropping $30 billion. The NRI group has been sending feelers to railway minister Lalu Prasad in this connection. The group wants to make a presentation before the minister, highlighting the advantages of the magnetic levitation technology.

The proposal is at a preliminary stage. However, if it is cleared by the ministry, the Delhi-Mumbai corridor would be taken up for implementation at an estimated cost of $30 billion (approximately Rs 1,35,000 crore). Pillars would be set up from Mumbai to New Delhi for laying the tracks. The minister may discuss the proposal internally next week.

HOW U PAKISTANIS FEEL HAHAHAHAHAH. U R STILL GONABE USING THOSE OLD SHIT FUCKED UP TRAING 5KMPH.

ATLEAST INDIA IS GETTING SOMEWHERE
The only one going somplace is your mother.. And I think she's jusy going down;) !

The link doesn't even work for some reason..

nevermind.

well, he may be stupid and full of hatred , but that does not give you the right to talk ill about his mother.

so, wht is the use of writing this article here and saying '' U R STILL GONABE USING THOSE OLD SHIT FUCKED UP TRAING 5KMPH. ATLEAST INDIA IS GETTING SOMEWHERE''

well, he may be stupid and full of hatred , but that does not give you the right to talk ill about his mother.
his mother should have taught him better :sleepy:

well, he may be stupid and full of hatred , but that does not give you the right to talk ill about his mother.
Have a sense of humor... jeez!

Get back to the topic...

Can someone tell me what exactly is going on with this project. Have they even started phase 1?

I saw a programme on Business plus and Nazim Karachi said that there are land problems associated with this project which is the reason that it hasnt been built, it was proposed for the first time in 1952.

i hope India nukes these motherfuking rapists.. stop dreaming and go back to raping your women u fuckies.

i hope India nukes these motherfuking rapists.. stop dreaming and go back to raping your women u fuckies.
India doesnt have the power to touch us

And you BalochChunity.com assholes should go back to your shitholes

what the FUCK
whats goin on

Moving beyond buses... to Maglev

The Karachi Mass Transit Program is an ambitious undertaking that will employ the most modern transport technology, which should carry Karachi forward into the 21st Century



By Rubina Jabbar

http://jang.com.pk/thenews/jul2005-weekly/nos-17-07-2005/images/1a77.jpg

There are three types of transport systems available for major cities anywhere in the world. They are road, rail and water based. Bangkok and Hong Kong are road, rail and water-based. Mumbai is road and rail based. Karachi has only one mode of public transport system that is road based, mostly buses, after the Karachi Circular Railway (KCR) closed for passenger operation in 1999.

http://jang.com.pk/thenews/jul2005-weekly/nos-17-07-2005/images/1a78.jpg

The metropolis of Karachi has 12,5,85 buses, mini buses, coaches and mini carriages (10-seat Suzuki) plying on about 207 classified routes in the city. Besides these, about 2750 contract carriers (mostly buses and coaches), 34000 rickshaws, 12000 taxis (black & yellow) and 18000 yellow cabs ply the city roads each day. Wireless fitted radio cabs have been introduced of late. As such a total of about 89000 vehicles - public buses, mini buses, coaches, taxis and rickshaws -- serve the public the Karachi.

As a result what we see is that whether its day or night, the traffic situation remains the same. And people hang off buses and mini buses simply because there is a shortage of transport. The streets are over run with vehicles and the ever-increasing number of cars and motorcycles added to the city saturates the roads. And even though flyovers have been built and underpasses are being made and the metropolis seems to have been dug up at sporadic junctions, the traffic problem looks like it will not lessen unless a Mass Transit system is put into place.

http://jang.com.pk/thenews/jul2005-weekly/nos-17-07-2005/images/1a79.jpg
Data from the Karachi Mass Transit (KMT) Cell shows that 40 persons compete for a bus seat in Karachi, which is an extremely high figure considering that the Mumbai figures show 12 people jostling for a seat, while only eight compete for one in Hong Kong. Considering the fact that both these cities are more densely populated than Karachi tells us something of the gravity of the situation.

The high growth of private vehicles is a major issue. Of the 1.3 million plus vehicles registered in Karachi 43 percent are cars. And 86 per cent road space is taken over by only two modes - cars and motor bikes. The worst thing happening is that these cars meant to mobilize people are not moving themselves because of traffic congestion. "127 cars consume the road space of a big high capacity bus," explains Malik Zaheer-ul-Islam, Director General, Karachi Mass Transit Cell of City District Government Karachi through a slide show while talking to Kolachi. If you imagine that those cars may not be filled to capacity with passengers shows how road space being taken up by private vehicles is leaving the vast majority of Karachi with a choice of slow moving haphazard buses when it comes to commuting. Yes, the introduction of green buses was welcome relief but it is a case of too little too late.



Global transit systems

Almost all the major cities of Asia and Europe are served with rail based mass transit system. High capacity big buses, light rail transit (LRT), Monorail, Metro, and Maglev (magnetically levitated trains) are the systems available to cater to the need of mass transit. In Asia alone, trams, LRTs and Metros are operating in 39 Asian cities, under construction in 9 cities, and in planning and design stage in 40 cities.

Delhi is now implementing the first phase of its metro system consisting of 3 Lines. Of the 63-kilometre total route length, 14 km is underground and 49 km elevated with 53 stations. Almost 86 percent work on the 210 million dollar project that started in 1998 has been completed.

As compared to Karachi with a 14 million population, Kuala Lumpur with 1.4 million population has four types of rail based transportation systems: LRT; Electrified Commuter Trains; High Speed Express Rail System, and Monorail technology introduced recently. This lack of the basic human need to commute is aggravating the population of the metropolis. It has to be remembered that the ability to commute affects employment. People will only seek a job at places that are easily accessible. In Karachi, most places are not.

Several studies were carried out from time to time to improve the transportation system of Karachi, but none of these were implemented. The First Master Plan of Karachi in 1952 suggested a proper circular railway in a large circle and mass transit system in the city. This thought was reasserted by the second Master Plan in 1974, which suggested upgrading it to light rail or metro. The recommendation was based on research which stemmed from the fact that Karachi was one of the very few cities that had a tram system back in 1947. Sydney and Melbourne in Australia and some other European cities have upgraded tram system into light rail. But instead of upgrading this convenient infrastructure into light rail, the government of that day chose to close the system in one fell swoop in 1975.

Following the World Bank study on mass transit conducted during 1987-90, the government approved Karachi Mass Transit Master Plan. The study recommended elevated bus ways convertible to light rail on six corridors of 86 kilometers route length. The city district government Karachi decided to reactivate this mass transit project.



The Karachi Plan
http://jang.com.pk/thenews/jul2005-weekly/nos-17-07-2005/images/1a80.jpg

The rail based mass transit system conceived for Karachi offers three options: elevated rail system; at grade (grade means at surface); or underground. However it is elevated or underground, or a mixture of either two that is being considered. Take into account the fact that Karachi is already overcrowded, it is little wonder that the at grade system on the surface is not an option.

Karachi mass transit has six priority corridors ( covering about 80 km - from Sohrab Goth to Tower (15.2 km), Orangi Town to Cantt. Station (12.0 km), North Karachi to Liaquatabad (15.4 km), Landhi to Cantt. Station (20.5 km), North Karachi to Shah Faisal Colony (14.5 km), and Baldia to Tower (09.8 km). The revitalization of Karachi Circular Railways (KCR) is an integral part of this plan that restricts the movement of mini buses and coaches to local feeder routes. Experts are of the opinion that nearly 55 percent commuter needs will be met if corridors one and two start working and the defunct KCR starts functioning again.



The Maglev train project

The city government invited tenders in 2003 on BOT (build, operate, transfer) basis from local and foreign firms for implementation of rail based mass transit system on Priority One Corridor from Sohrab Goth to Tower. BOT means the company will bring the money and equipment, construct the system and operate it for 30 years and then hand it over to a company.

Seven companies pre-qualified, but only two tenders were received; one from American Maglev Technologies and other from a Chinese company. Finally a high powered steering committee headed by Deputy Chairman Planning Commission awarded the contract to American Maglev Technologies (AMT). After that City Nazim Naimatullah Khan announced that the first phase of Corridor I Karachi Mass Transit Program (KMTP) would start by December 31, 2006 with a Magnetic Levitation Train.

The BOT project is estimated to cost 289 million US dollars. The magnetic train project will have 45 railcars with each having the capacity for 400 passengers. Thirty cars will be built by foreign firms and the rest by Pakistan Railways. The magnetic train will run on the 17.2 km route between Tower and Sohrab Goth. According to DG Mass Transit, the work is expected to start by the end of the year or the turn of the year. The project is expected to be ready three years after construction starts.

What is dicey is that the Maglev train is relatively new. Indeed, it is yet to be launched in the country where it was invented, that is Germany. However, the first project undertaken by Transrapid, Germany was launched in Shanghai on December 29, 2003 and has been running successfully since then. This year the first maglev line will be inaugurated in Munich in Germany. Other countries looking into maglev transport apart from Pakistan include Japan, Qatar, United Kingdom and the United States. In the US currently, a maglev train is being run on an experimental basis in a university in Old Dominion.

The presentation given to Kolachi by the Karachi City District Government's KMT Cell claims, 'proven technology, minimum duplication of public transport, affordable fare, minimum air and noise pollution, promoting of local technology and resources for creating local jobs were the basic criteria considered for the selection of the project for Karachi.'

Rapid population growth, lack of an efficient transport system to support the growth, over-saturated existing road-based transport system which is incapable of meeting present and projected traffic demand, air and noise and the tragically increasing number of fatal road accidents are all facts that accentuate the need for a mass transit system for the city of Karachi. Here's hoping that the grand plans being made don't remain just that.
source: http://jang.com.pk/thenews/
The News on Sunday 17. July 2005

Can anyone get a bigger image of this?

http://jang.com.pk/thenews/jul2005-weekly/nos-17-07-2005/images/1a79.jpg

is this project dead?

dont know...it shouldnt die....it can't die

There was some news that a piece of land that the CDGK wanted for the Mass transit corridor has been given to a private firm for an apartment construction.

At least that corridor is in jeopardy, dont know about the whole project.

Land problems can be solved by negotiating or by changing the plan a bit. It looks like some thing else.

Where are the MODS?

Also, maglev project is old history.
-Maglev isnt a suitable technology for mass transit within a city. However, it is good technology for trains operating between cities.
-Maglev would be far too costly to implement in Karachi and would result in very high ticket charges.

Recently there was talk of Bus Rapid Transit. However that too has very limited options for expansion even though it is easy to implement in the short term.

ONLY SOLUTION?
ELEVATED LIGHT RAIL!

Why not being implemented yet?
-lack of political will
-land issues
-needs more pressure from citizens!

Why necessary?
- public mass transportation desperately needed in the city.
- flyovers and signal free corridors are only a short term solution. Only a matter of months before they too get over-crowded.
- Cars increasing rapidly on roads due to unavailability of other good transport options. Also easy financing from banks.

Anybody wanna know more about technologies such as Maglev, Bus Rapid Transit, Elevated Light Rail?
- en.wikipedia.org
- www.google.com

Please educate yourselves.

Couldn't find this posted elsewhere

KMTP shelved due to dispute between Sindh government and CDGK (http://brecorder.com/index.php?id=861356&currPageNo=2&query=&search=&term=&supDate=)
MUHAMMAD ALI

KARACHI (January 07 2009): The much publicised $600 million Karachi Mass Transit Project (KMTP) has finally been wrapped up. Reason: bickering over the control of the project between the Sindh provincial government and City District Government Karachi (CDGK). The Asian Development Bank (ADB) which had undertaken to finance the project has cancelled the agreement it had earlier entered into with CDGK.

Sources in the Sindh Planning and Development department told Business Recorder on Tuesday that earlier ADB had approved US $1.1billion for the project. But later it had been cut by US $350 million and revised it by US $600 million, owing to the official indifferences.

The hostile relationship amongst both governments has thwarted all efforts made for the project, they said. They further added the ADB officials had expressed grave concern over the issue during several meetings with the Sindh government, CDGK and other relevant officials and had also stopped process of funds.

Therefore, a team, comprising Nazar Hussain Mehar, Additional Chief Secretary, P&D department, Ghulam Ali Pasha, Additional Chief Secretary, Finance department, Malik Islam, Project Director, KMTP and other officials had visited ADB head office, Manila to convince ADB officials to restore all activity related to the project.

However, ADB is of the view that if the fund was released for the project, it would be pointless because the issue of controlling the project is still not decided, they added. To a question, they said the high-ups posted in Finance and P&D departments were reluctant to give complete control to the CDGK, saying the Sindh government should deal the project.

Therefore, the notification to establish Sindh Mass Transit Authority (SMTA) was issued by the authority concerned, which later was withdrawn after strong reaction by the CDGK. They further said the City Nazim Mustafa Kamal called President Asif Ali Zardari and expressed his concern over the establishment of the SMTA.

He has also requested the president to intervene for resolving the matter, sources maintained. They said that ADB would reallocate these funds for the project of any other country and added that if both governments did not quarrel for taking control of the KMTP, ADB would not stop funds for the project.

They termed it as a huge loss for the country especially for the Karachiities, who are suffering due to inadequate public transport. Furthermore, they said that another reason for its annulment was that the government had not reviewed all the practical options of the project and had failed to convince ADB officials about the significance of the project for the commuters.

^^ :ohno:

sindh assembly session: Sindh govt claims city’s population has touched 18m

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/images/2009/02/03/20090203_e04.jpg
By Razzak Abro

KARACHI: Provincial Minister for Local Government Agha Siraj Durrani informed the Sindh Assembly that the population of Karachi has reached around 18 million.

Addressing a question at the assembly session on Monday, Durrani submitted in writing that Karachi was now ranked as one of the 12-mega cities of the world, while also being the largest and fastest growing city of Pakistan.

According to the written answer, the land area of Karachi district is approximately 3,600 square kilometers and the entire area was declared as the Karachi district after the promulgation of the Sindh Local Government Ordinance 2001 (SLGO-2001).

Arif Mustafa Jatoi, an opposition MPA, however, questioned the authenticity of the population figure saying that it did not match the one given by the Population Census Organisation. Objecting to the minister’s reply, Jatoi said that according to the figure quoted by Durrani, half of Sindh’s population was residing in Karachi and this meant that the city was being given its share in resources according to this ratio.

To this, Durrani replied that Karachi was being given a share in resources based on the population figure of 120 million.

Responding to a question by PPP’s Nadeem Ahmed Bhutto, Durrani said, “There is no distinction between urban and rural areas under the SLGO-2001 and CDGK has undertaken development schemes or projects in all areas including Gadap, Bin Qasim, Keamari and Lyari.”

He also dispelled Bhutto’s impression that the City District Government Karachi (CDGK) has adopted different criteria for the allocation of funds and projects in urban and rural areas. Durrani said that funds were distributed among different towns of Karachi by the Provincial Finance Commission and not by the CDGK. He also said that the funds were distributed using a formula, whereby, the distribution of 50 percent of the funds was on population basis, 40 percent on human development basis, five percent on area basis and the remaining five percent on the basis of town administration performances.

Encroached road: Responding to a question, Durrani said that in order to comply with the Sindh High Court’s orders, CDGK had planned to remove encroachments on the road between sector 14-A and 12-C in Baldia Town on May 17, 2008. A request was also made to DIG West on May 10, 2008, he said, adding that the operation was not held due to non-availability of the police force in the area that is already very sensitive.

Replying to another question, Durrani said that the CDGK had introduced Community Policing System under the SLGO in September 2007 and appointed 1,500 people on a contractual basis. He said that their services were hired for maintaining a strict watch over municipal properties, encroachment of land, unauthorised construction, encroachment in storm water drains, illegal installation of hoardings billboards, unauthorised digging and cutting of roads, unauthorised opening of cabins, shops, huts and dumping of garbage in non-designated places.

Sindh government intends to revive Mass Transit System: Talking about the Mass Transit System, Durrani said, “The government has given top priority to the Mass Transit System Project and Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah has issued directives to introduce the Light Rail Transit System in Karachi.” The Asian Development Bank has also agreed to provide technical and financial support for implementation of the Mass Transit System, he added.

Responding to a question by PPP MPA Humera Alwani, Durrani said, “PPP’s assassinated leader, Shaheed Benazir Bhutto, started working on the project in 1995 and the then federal government awarded a contract in 1996. However, due to the change of governments, the project was delayed and its implementation agreement was terminated in 2001.”

Durrani said that in 2003, CDGK made efforts and invited fresh expression of interest on a BOT (build, operate and transfer) basis but the same could not be implemented due to the non-fulfillment of commitments by the bidder. The minister said that the CDGK had issued a Letter of Intent (LoI) in October, 2007 for the Light Train Project on priority corridor-I (Sohrab Goth to Tower), but the federal government and the firm engaged for the project could not fulfill the commitments and the LoI was terminated in March, 2008.


http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2009\02\03\story_3-2-2009_pg12_1

Apart from our political differences one thing is for sure that Karachi desperately needs MRTS and that too of good few hundred km or else there would be no scope of development in Karachi as city will be choked to death in pollution and congestion...I cant believe that they lost the opportunity of financial support from ADB and that too because of ownership and control problem...

Enough of politics :|

Sindh government intends to revive Mass Transit System: Talking about the Mass Transit System, Durrani said, “The government has given top priority to the Mass Transit System Project and Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah has issued directives to introduce the Light Rail Transit System in Karachi.” [B]The Asian Development Bank has also agreed to provide technical and financial support for implementation of the Mass Transit System, he added.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2009\02\03\story_3-2-2009_pg12_1

From the article I posted, it seems the ADB has walked out of the agreement, and so they shouldn't be quoted as agreeing to provide technical and financial support. At one time, they did agree, but I think they've since abandoned our corrupt officials.

This is called democracy and in a democracy everyone has freedom of speech just goes to show tolerance and democracy in mqm it self and its supporters who just don't like hearing the truth.

No...this is called someone's private forum where like-minded people that are enthusiastic about skyscrapers, urbanity and general development gather.

Posting here is a privilege and comes with certain conditions...one of them being not discussing politics here (in our section).

Talks with Japan under way for underground train service in Karachi: Bilour

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

By Syed Bukhar Shah

PESHAWAR: Minister for Railways Ghulam Ahmad Bilour said on Monday that talks with Japan were under way for underground mass-transit train service in Karachi.

Speaking at the Meet the Press programme at the Peshawar Press Club on Monday, he said the completion of the project would take three years with a share of 60:40 expenses by the governments of Japan and Pakistan. Bilour said a lot of blood of the Pakhtuns had been shed during the past several years, which should be stopped now.

He said the Awami National Party (ANP) would go to any extent for restoring peace in the Pakhtun-dominated areas. He said all the issues should be resolved through negotiation. For achieving peace, he said, the society should take collective measures.

When Bilour, a senior ANP leader, was addressing the Meet the Press programme, his party’s provincial leadership was holding talks with the Tanzeem Nifaz Shariat-e-Muhammadi (TNSM) leaders as well as the presidents and general secretaries of all the political parties for the restoration of peace in Swat.

Bilour expressed concern over the deteriorating economic situation, hunger, unemployment, price hike and lawlessness, saying 2.2 million Pakhtuns were killed during the Afghan war and now, they were being pitched against the US under a conspiracy. He posed a question as to how industries could be established on such a land where bombs were being rained and innocent people being killed.

The minister expressed helplessness in bringing the Pakistan Railways out of the heavy deficit and attributed the losses to the extra-burden in shape of factories and workshops. He said that only the Mughalpura Railway Workshop in Lahore had more than 11,000 workers, adding that the Locomotive Factory, Risalpur, and four sleeper-manufacturing factories in different cities of the country also required financial resources.

The running of train service was the only source of earning for the Pakistan Railways, he added. He said that after the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, people torched 35 locomotives and 53 railway stations in different parts of the country.

He vowed to streamline the affairs of the Railways Ministry and minimise the deficit, which had climbed to Rs 3.1 billion annually. He said when he assumed the charge of the ministry, the deficit was Rs 1.48 billion.

The railways, he said, also owed Rs 20 billion to the State Bank of Pakistan under the head of loans. He said the Pakistan Railways had also purchased land at the Gwadar Port to link it with Peshawar and Karachi.

I like how the press conference is a mix of Mass Transit and how Pashtuns have lost a lot of blood, the ANP, price hike, lawlessness, deficit and Benazir Bhutto :nuts:

If an underground mass transit system actually gets built then I will officially drop my vendetta against KKbehan.




but until then............




DAMNYOU KB! >(

The running of trains is the only source of income for Pakistan Railway. No shit!

I like how the press conference is a mix of Mass Transit and how Pashtuns have lost a lot of blood, the ANP, price hike, lawlessness, deficit and Benazir Bhutto :nuts:

If anyone posts such articles, can you please edit out the bullshit portions and leave only the relevant parts? People should have the sense to edit out irrelevant nonsense from articles themselves.

If an underground mass transit system actually gets built then I will officially drop my vendetta against KKbehan.




but until then............




DAMNYOU KB! >(

:pet:

Here's your hopes for the mass transit
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpost.php?p=32341420&postcount=1757

The running of trains is the only source of income for Pakistan Railway. No shit!

What about the huge auction of the railways land ^^

Those are one-time gains, not 'sources of income'. Even in a balance sheet such items are mentioned as 'one-time'. PR is not in the business of selling land. Although not related, I don't think PR should have the permission to sell any land that's been given to it.

If an underground mass transit system actually gets built then I will officially drop my vendetta against KKbehan.




but until then............




DAMNYOU KB! >(

KB might bribe an FBI agent or blow up your business.
Beware of KB!

Talks with Japan under way for underground train service in Karachi: Bilour

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

By Syed Bukhar Shah

PESHAWAR: Minister for Railways Ghulam Ahmad Bilour said on Monday that talks with Japan were under way for underground mass-transit train service in Karachi.

Speaking at the Meet the Press programme at the Peshawar Press Club on Monday, he said the completion of the project would take three years with a share of 60:40 expenses by the governments of Japan and Pakistan. Bilour said a lot of blood of the Pakhtuns had been shed during the past several years, which should be stopped now.

He said the Awami National Party (ANP) would go to any extent for restoring peace in the Pakhtun-dominated areas. He said all the issues should be resolved through negotiation. For achieving peace, he said, the society should take collective measures.

When Bilour, a senior ANP leader, was addressing the Meet the Press programme, his party’s provincial leadership was holding talks with the Tanzeem Nifaz Shariat-e-Muhammadi (TNSM) leaders as well as the presidents and general secretaries of all the political parties for the restoration of peace in Swat.

Bilour expressed concern over the deteriorating economic situation, hunger, unemployment, price hike and lawlessness, saying 2.2 million Pakhtuns were killed during the Afghan war and now, they were being pitched against the US under a conspiracy. He posed a question as to how industries could be established on such a land where bombs were being rained and innocent people being killed.

The minister expressed helplessness in bringing the Pakistan Railways out of the heavy deficit and attributed the losses to the extra-burden in shape of factories and workshops. He said that only the Mughalpura Railway Workshop in Lahore had more than 11,000 workers, adding that the Locomotive Factory, Risalpur, and four sleeper-manufacturing factories in different cities of the country also required financial resources.

The running of train service was the only source of earning for the Pakistan Railways, he added. He said that after the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, people torched 35 locomotives and 53 railway stations in different parts of the country.

He vowed to streamline the affairs of the Railways Ministry and minimise the deficit, which had climbed to Rs 3.1 billion annually. He said when he assumed the charge of the ministry, the deficit was Rs 1.48 billion.

The railways, he said, also owed Rs 20 billion to the State Bank of Pakistan under the head of loans. He said the Pakistan Railways had also purchased land at the Gwadar Port to link it with Peshawar and Karachi.


Involvement of PR will only undermine the usefulness of this project. It is not PR's job to run Mass transit. CDGK can be a possible stake holder (that too around 10-15% atmost - but still not recommended) but definitely not PR. This deal smells corruption. It should be out sourced to a private firm on BOT basis, else it will experience the same fate as of KCR/ KMC buses of 1990s.
Secondly but equally important, one must expect no serious action under the current minister - whose political backgrond has vested interest in the existing transport system of Karachi.

There is a lot of money to be made by moving coal, iron and other material especially if railway line connects to the port.....

Rapid bus transit service to ease traffic, says KMC

February 04, 2013

KARACHI – Karachi Metropolitan Corporation Administrator Muhammad Hussain Syed said a rapid bus transit facility was essential for Karachi and could resolve the prevailing transport problems.

Addressing a meeting, which was attended by Mass Transit DG Rasheed Mughal, Transport and Communications Director Muhammad Ather and other officers, the administrator said under the RBTS, a ‘yellow line’ service would be taken as a pilot project on a 22-km route from Dawood Chowrangi to Numaish Chowrangi & Lucky Star via 8000 Road Korangi and FTC under public-private partnership mode, where 0.7 million seven commute a single day. The proposed RBTS would cater to 13,000 passengers per hour on each route.

The administrator emphasised the need for rapid bus transit facility.

Later, KMTC DG Rasheed Mughal, in his presentation, briefed about the city’s demographic pattern, travel demand trend, JICA study recommendation for transit project and projected cost of infra-structure and various system. He also informed about the features of the RBT system and its components.

He explained that the RBTS “yellow line” would be a 22-km route from Dawood Chowrangi to Numaish Chowrangi & Lucky Star via 8000 Road Korangi and FTC.

The feasibility and transaction structure of RBTS would enable KMTC, KMC to make an informed decision that should ensure an affordable, sustainable and replicable system.

The meeting was further informed that the JICA had prepared a mass transit network for Karachi with 2030 vision suggesting two metro system lines and six RBT lines, besides KCR revitalisation programme. The JICA has also prepared feasibility study of two RBTS lines (Green line-Surjani to Jama Cloth market and red line-model colony to Regal Chowk via Safoora Goth, university road) and pre-facility of blue line from Sohrab Goth to Tower.

http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/karachi/04-Feb-2013/rapid-bus-transit-service-to-ease-traffic-says-kmc

KMC chief wants ‘illegal’ flyovers completed by March
14th January, 2013

KARACHI, Jan 13: Karachi Metropolitan Corporation Administrator Mohammad Hussain Syed told the officials concerned that work on four flyovers being constructed on Shahrah-i-Pakistan be carried out round the clock so that the project could be completed by March as planned.

The administrator was talking to the media after paying a visit to the construction sites of all four flyovers. He expressed concern over the slow pace of work on the Teen Hatti and Dak-khana flyovers and gave directions that work be expedited on those flyovers while he seemed satisfied at the pace of work on the Ayesha Manzil and Water Pump flyovers.

However, sources told Dawn that the KMC was violating laws by building all four flyovers without carrying out an environmental impact assessment for them before starting construction work. They said the flyovers had not been approved by the Sindh Environmental Protection Agency (Sepa), which was mandatory for any construction project.

They said that violators of environmental laws could be awarded long prison sentences and be imposed with heavy fines.

According to the sources, the location for the Dak-khana flyover conflicted with the proposed alignment of mass transit project, adding that the Karachi Mass Transit Cell had also voiced concerns on the issue, but KMC’s top officials did not pay heed to it and proceeded with the construction work.

Meanwhile, talking to the media, the KMC administrator ordered preparation of a proper traffic-management plan so that regular traffic jams at Water Pump and Ayesha Manzil, owing to the ongoing construction work, be avoided and commuters did not suffer.

He said that the Shahrah-i-Pakistan passed through heavily populated and congested areas of the city but the hardships being faced by residents were temporary. He said that after the construction of flyovers, people residing in Martin Road area, Liaquatabad, Lasbella, PIB Colony, Nazimabad, Azizabad, Incholi and Karimabad would have direct and uninterrupted access to the Superhighway.

On the occasion, KMC director general (technical services) Altaf Memon informed the administrator that traffic would move via a signal-free corridor after the completion of Shahrah-i-Pakistan and commuters would be able to reach Sohrab Goth directly from Guru Mandir. Vehicles plying on many public transport routes would be relocated on flyovers to ease traffic movement under the flyovers, he added.

Meanwhile, the sources also criticised the role played by Sepa, saying that the organisation was not taking any action against the civic agency which was building flyovers without getting its approval first. They said that had this been done by a private organization then Sepa would have instantly sprung into action and would have given orders to stop work before sealing the project. However, in this case since the violator was a government body, Sepa was also taking its time to proceed with its punitive actions.

They added that when government agencies did not follow laws themselves or did not take action against another government organisation which also broke laws, they lost moral grounds to take action against private organizations.

http://dawn.com/2013/01/14/kmc-chief-wants-illegal-flyovers-completed-by-march/

^^ The PPP-controlled KMC idiots are destroying plans for future mass transit corridors.

We'll see about Mass Transit when something actually starts. Right now the priority is to improve traffic flow all over the city. I am for any and all flyovers across the city.

We'll see about Mass Transit when something actually starts. Right now the priority is to improve traffic flow all over the city. I am for any and all flyovers across the city.

They should build flyovers but take into consideration plans for future metro rail lines. Shahra e Pakistan is the route for Corridor 1 of the metro and by ignoring it they're destroying the plans.

This is what happens when the city is controlled by unelected bureaucrats answerable to no one but Zardari.

They can still build the metro lines around/under the flyovers, no big deal. Until work actually starts on any metro rail project, I am happy to see road infrastructure improve.

I think Karachi is the only mega city in the world without Metro train and without proper traffic management system... :( really sad

Under-construction flyover in conflict with mass transit plan
21st November, 2012

KARACHI, Nov 20: The Karachi Mass Transit Cell has opposed the construction of a flyover by the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) at Dakkhana, arguing that it is in conflict with the mass transit plan, it emerged on Tuesday.

Sources said the KMC had not obtained a no-objection certificate from the KMTC for its flyovers which according to KMC administrator’s directives must have been obtained before initiating work on the flyovers.

Work on the flyovers is under way.

While KMTC chief Rasheed Mughal said it was an ‘in-house issue’ and would be sorted out within the KMC, he confirmed to Dawn that neither the NOC had been applied for nor the KMTC issued one. He also agreed that the Dakkhana flyover was being built at a location where one of the mass transit corridors had been planned.

The sources said that the KMC was constructing four flyovers –– at the Water Pump crossroads, Ayesha Manzil intersection, Dakkhana and Teen Hatti –– to make Shahrah-i-Pakistan a signal-free corridor so that traffic could move unhindered from Sohrab Goth to Guru Mandir. The work on the project is going on round the clock and is expected to be completed within a few months.

They said that the KMC had not even got the environmental impact assessment of the under-construction flyovers approved from the Sindh Environmental Protection Agency (Sepa), which was mandatory under the law. They added that no project could be initiated unless its environmental impact assessment had been approved by Sepa.

The KMTC wrote the first letter on July 23 to the NAA Consulting Engineers, which is associated with the flyovers project, stating that in the final draft report of Japan International Cooperation Agency for a study of proposed Karachi Transport Improvement Project, “Blue Line MRT (rail-based) corridor has been proposed from Tower to the Superhighway for which space between flyover carriageway must be provided as the same has been provided at Sohrab Goth, NIPA and Millennium Mall flyover carriageways. This space must be provided in all the flyover carriageways coming in to this Blue Line MRT (rail-based) corridor.”

Again on Sept 17, the sources said, the KMTC wrote to the NAACE on the subject of ‘space between flyover carriageways at three flyovers on Shahrah-i-Pakistan and S. M. Taufiq road corridor’. The communication says: “The final draft report of JICA for the study of Karachi Transportation Improvement Project (KTIP), where JICA proposed MRT (rail based) Blue Line from Tower to Superhighway via Water Pump, Ayesha Manzil, Dakkhana, and Teen Hatti.

“You are therefore advised to please keep in consideration the pre-feasibility study of Blue Line submitted by JICA in its Draft Final report of KTIP during the planning and designing of flyovers, underpasses, overhead pedestrian bridge so on so forth along the proposed MRT Blue Line.”

The sources said that finally the KMTC wrote a letter on Oct 14, the latest on the subject. It said: “In continuation in to our earlier letters (dated July 23, 2012 and Sept 17, 2012) followed by a detailed meeting of KMTC director general (Rasheed Mughal) with you (NAACE chief Nadeem Ansari) on Sept 18, 2012 in your office in which he (Mr Mughal) had shown serious concerns about the designing and implementation of Dakkhana flyover in conflict with pre-feasibility of MRT Blue Line (Superhighway to Tower) proposed by JICA in its KTIP study, you are requested to kindly intimate the latest status to this effect.”

The sources said that a notification issued by the KMC administrator on Jan 4 required that an NOC be obtained from the KMTC before initiating a project along its various proposed corridors. The notification (Secy/Admtr/KMC/2012/200) states: “JICA team in accordance with the joint agreement with Government of Pakistan, Government of Sindh and CDGK (defunct) / KMC has been conducting study for Karachi Transportation Project 2030 Vision under JICA grant-in-aid.

“The first phase of the study was preparation of Karachi Transport Master Plan which has been completed by the JICA study team in June 2010. The work on second phase for preparation of Feasibility Study for Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) / Light Rail Transit (LRT) on different priority corridors is in progress.

“In order to ensure provision of space for the Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) / Light Rail Transit (LRT), it is imperative that in future planning and development projects coming in the alignment of proposed Transportation Master Plan Corridors, sufficient space should be kept / reserved for which Karachi Mass Transit Cell (KMTC) must be consulted and kept on board for obtaining NOC while undertaking any development project by all concerned departments including the Engineering Department, KMC, Transport and Communication Department, KMC, Master Plan Department KMC and District Municipal Corporations etc.”

Copies of this notification had been sent to almost all the relevant persons not only within the KMC but also in other departments, including the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board, cantonment boards and the Karachi Urban Transport Corporation.

http://dawn.com/2012/11/21/under-construction-flyover-in-conflict-with-mass-transit-plan/