Yesterday I heard about some labs about the circular railway on geo tv.
Can someone give mor details about that. Some how the federal govt is also involved.

yes i heard it too...something along the lines of 60% funded through government, and the rest through private companies...but geo is so lame that it didnt shed more light on it.

http://www.dawn.com/2005/12/21/images/local01.jpg

KARACHI, Dec 20: The plan for a complete revival of the Karachi Circular Railway operation has been shelved for at least two years after a Japanese delegation submitted a feasibility study for introducing an electric railcar system at an estimated cost of $830 million (Rs49.22 billion).

The partial service of the KCR from Landhi to Wazir Mansion railway stations, inaugurated in March this year will, however, continue, and the government will consider the feasibility submitted by the Japanese experts for the KCR’s modernization.

If the feasibility is approved, the Pakistani government will be requested to seek a soft loan from the Japanese government, after the receipt of which, work on the first phase of the project will be initiated by the end of 2007 or early 2008.

The project will be completed by 2010, said the State Minister for Railways, Ishaque Khakwani, at a news conference held at the Division Superintendent Karachi Railway Office on Tuesday.

He was flanked by the City Nazim, Mustafa Kamal, and other officials of the railways, city transport departments, mass transit cell, and members of the Japanese delegation.

The state minister said the Japanese delegation of experts sent by the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), a Japanese government-related organization, had presented the final draft of the feasibility report for the KCR’s revival.

The report, he said, had suggested that the power railcar on the KCR loop should be introduced on a pattern of a modernized railway system, which would be extended up to the airport.

Referring to the draft report, the state minister said that in the first phase, the KCR would be made operative from the City Railway Station to the Liaquatabad Station at an estimated cost of $282 million.

In the second phase, work on the loop up to the Drigh Road Station will be initiated in 2011 and extended up to the airport at an estimated cost of $548 million. It will be operative by 2020.

However, he said the feasibility report will be discussed and the government may give its own input, which could be different from the Japanese options.

About a soft loan, he said the Special Term for Economic Partnership (STEP) loan at an interest rate of merely 0.4 per cent for 40 years, and a grace period of 10 years, would be granted after the project’s feasibility was finalized. The Japanese government would, however, release up to $300 million per annum.

Besides, goods procured from Japan will not be less than 30 per cent of the total amount of the contract financed under the STEP agreement.

He said the Japanese foreign minister was due in Pakistan next month, and by that time, the required documents would be conveyed to the Japanese Government, and approval would also be obtained from Ecnec and the Planning Commission.

About repair work of the existing KCR tracks, Mr Khakwani said: “We have to spend on repairs. And, after the project is approved and its construction begins, the existing infrastructure may be replaced with a new one.

“Keeping in view the situation, it is better to suspend work and wait for another two years as we have already waited for so many years.”

According to the feasibility study, double tracks will be laid, and the Wazir Mansion Station will be built as a depot. A fairly large demand of passengers can be expected by ensuring adequate integration with the public transport.

It has been forecast that opening of the first phase will attract 181,000 passengers daily, and the number of daily commuters would increase to 700,400 with the opening of the second phase.

KARACHI, Dec 20: A team of Japanese technical experts on Tuesday presented the initial feasibility report for the Karachi Circular Railway (KCR)’s revival to the Sindh Governor, Dr Ishratul Ibad, at the Governor’s House.

The 10-member team of the Japan External Trade Organization, a Japanese government-related organization, completed the feasibility report by staying in Karachi for a month’s period.

It was agreed that if the feasibility report found the project viable, Tokyo would extend a soft-loan for its execution.

The governor welcomed the initial feasibility report, but he disagreed with the time period suggested for the project. He said the project would be a success only when its completion period was further curtailed.

He said long-term planning was needed to cater to the increasing public transport needs of Karachi. He said the KCR’s revival and modernization was the government’s priority.

He said Karachiites needed immediate relief in the public transport sector, adding that the government was working on many projects in this regard.

The governor hoped that work on the Sohrab Goth-Tower corridor of the Mass Transit Plan would begin in few months.

—PPI

wat happened to the lahore monorail and karachi maglav.

In the second phase, work on the loop up to the Drigh Road Station will be initiated in 2011 and extended up to the airport at an estimated cost of $548 million. It will be operative by 2020.

2020 thts way too long, by tht time karachi's population wud have expanded to smthing like 20m.

Karachi really needs some sort of mass transit project. Karachi has a larger population than some countries. Those Green Buses or whatever they are called cant possibly be good enough.

I'm not sure why the Karachi Govt. is only thinking about the KCR, quite frankly the "Circular" railway isnt actually worth the trouble.

The Govt. should negociate a deal with the Malaysian Govt. for contruction of a Mono-rail link for Karachi which would be benefitial for Karachi as;

Mono-rails do NOT take huge amounts of space

Mono-rails can be run in-between the roads (in place of the green belt intersection on the 2 sided roads), connected via an overhead bridge, service the purpose of an overhead pedestrian crossing and ofcourse as a Mono-rail station.

And ofcourse update and upgrade the current fleet of buses, introduce new routes ETC.

And last but not least, build atleast 500 Parking plazas all over Karachi, which would help ALOT.

Oh yeah and what about the Tram project for Clifton? Down the drain I guess ..

They can certainly use the Tram system in Saddar, and ban the use of cars in the area, for example ;

Build a parking plaza before Saddar, people park their cars there and hop on the tram and do or buy whatever they want and simply come back, get back in their cars and drive off!

I think the Govt should shelve KCR completely. What is needed the most, is the freaking CORRIDOR I from Sohrab Goth to Tower that they've been putting off forever! If that corridor is connected, Karachi's minibus population will reduce three folds over night. Most commuters follow that route to inner Karachi.

i think we should email musharraf or something about it.. KCR is a joke...it should be killed forever and it should be replaced by a mass transit program...even delhi has a subway system ...i wish i could behead and hang the sindh transport minister that freaking Bas***

I made a collage map out of Google Earth Satellite images showing the current KCR route. It follows the KCR rail track around the city. And you can easily see how impractical it is. To get to one point from the next, u have to go around the whole city. Very time consuming. The yellow line is the KCR track.
(Click on the image in the image shack window to show u the full picture.)


http://img501.imageshack.us/img501/711/kcrcollage8vu.th.jpg (http://img501.imageshack.us/my.php?image=kcrcollage8vu.jpg)

^ Plus it does not connect the 'now' important areas of Karachi, I.E Sharea Faisal, PECHS, Tariq Road, Bahadurabad ETC.

http://www.pakistanrail.com/kcr/kcr3.jpg

http://www.pakistanrail.com/kcr/kcr10.jpg

http://www.pakistanrail.com/kcr/kcr9.jpg

http://www.pakistanrail.com/kcr/kcr1.jpg

http://www.pakistanrail.com/kcr/kcr2.jpg

http://www.pakistanrail.com/kcr/kcr5.jpg

http://www.pakistanrail.com/kcr/kcr4.jpg

i think the best thing to do would be to add different lines to it. keep the yellow line and add a red or a blue line which would run in the middle of the city. say starting from nazimabad to clifton. another one from clifton to karsaaz or gulistan-e-johar. in that way it would cross most of the major cities.

Well you cant just tear housing/businesses up for new lines ...

Thats why I say the KCR is totally out of the question now for Karachi.

KARACHI MASS TRANSIT: WHAT WE CAN LEARN FROM OTHERS

By Arif Hasan

Recently, a seminar on rail based mass transit systems was arranged in Karachi by the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport Pakistan and the Mass Transit Cell of the Karachi City Government. In a paper read at the seminar, the Director of the Karachi Mass Transit Cell presented construction cost details of rail based mass transit systems in other cities of the world. These figures were very revealing and welcome. We can now compare our costs with those of similar cities. However, there is much more that we can learn from the experience of others and it would have been good if this too could have been discussed.

Manila, Cairo, Bangkok, Calcutta and Bombay are cities very similar to ours in demographic and social terms. All of them have rail based mass transit systems in operation. Some of them have developed these systems recently. It is important to understand the repercussions of these systems and how they have fared.

In the case of Manila, Cairo and Bangkok, mass transit rail systems have not improved traffic conditions. In all these cities traffic related problems have increased and there are enormous traffic jams in which people can be caught for anything between one to two hours if nor more. This is in spite of the fact that these cities have also built numerous flyovers and/or expressways on which millions of dollars have been spent. Traffic moves fast on the expressways but at the exit to the expressway (except when leaving the city) increased traffic congestion takes place. The recent circular road loop constructed in Bangkok has however eased traffic conditions. Planners feel that if it had been built earlier, some of the expressways would not have been necessary. It is clear from the experience of these cities that effective traffic management and planning to segregate through and local traffic and not inner city expressways, flyovers and rail mass transit systems alone will improve traffic conditions.

In both Manila and Bangkok, there is a continuous increase of bus traffic even on roads where the light rail systems have been built. Taxis are a major cause of congestion as they wait below the stations on the roads for customers. The reason for this is simple. The cost of light rail travel far exceeds that of bus travel. For instance, the sky train fare in Bangkok is between 10 to 40 Bhat or an average of 29 Bhat (Rs 37.5) whereas the same journey can be made by bus in 3.5 to 5 Bhat. In Manila, the fare is less, 12 Peso (Rs 19) when I last used it in 2000. Again, the bus fare for the same journey is less than 25 per cent of the rail fare. Again, neither the Bangkok nor the Manila systems serve the suburbs of the city whereas the major movement of commuters is from the suburbs to the city centre.

Both the Manila and the Bangkok light rail were built on BOT. The fare is cheaper in Manila because the light rail construction cost much less. In Manila it is a simple elevated transit way six metre high in the centre of the road. As such, it is environmentally unfriendly and has degraded the corridors it passes through. In Bangkok the light rail is a sky train transit way at a height, in places, of over 15 metres. Its construction cost is about ten times more expensive than that of the Manila light rail and this explains its high fare structure as well. However, due a booming tourist industry, Bangkok was able to afford its sky train and make it environmentally more friendly by linking it up through well conceived urban design projects with commercial and shopping plazas. This will not be possible in Karachi given the locations through which the light rail mass transit will pass. The lessons for Karachi from the experiences mentioned above are obvious.

Bombay and Calcutta have suburban railway systems whose travel costs compare favourably with those of buses and as such there is a disincentive for using other than the railway system. The reason for low fares is that these systems were built by the state and with state subsidies. Also, these systems are rail only corridors and as such do not congest the already congested roads as in Manila and Bangkok. They carry people from the suburbs to their places of work and back in better environmental conditions than what polluted roads can offer. Inner city mass transit systems, by linking up with them, become far less extensive, intensive and expensive. The Karachi Circular Railway (KCR), revived and extended into the suburbs, with serve the same purpose even better since its outreach will be far more extensive than that of the Calcutta and Bombay suburban rail systems. However, if it is built on BOT, without a major government subsidy, its travel cost will be much higher than that of bus transport, defeating the purpose for which it is being constructed.

All cities who have built rail based systems have not built elevated transit ways through their historic areas and through the narrow corridors of the inner city. This has been a conscious decision on their part. Thus, in Istanbul, Ankara, Cairo and now Delhi, the light rail systems within the inner city and historic areas are all underground. In the case of Bangkok and Manila, building an underground is extremely expensive since both the cities are built on marshes. As such, it was decided not to build light rail systems in the historic Pahurat and Bang Lamphu districts of Bangkok although they are congested and used heavily by commuters. Similarly, in Manila, transit ways were not built near the historic fort area and major changes were made to building an elevated light rail through the Macarty district to address environmental and heritage concerns of the citizens and urban planners.

Corridor One in the case of Karachi, passes through Karachi’s historic district where most of its important monuments and recently listed buildings are located. Karachi has a wealth of beautiful colonial architecture in its historic core. It is encouraging to note that in one of its alternative proposals for Corridor One, the City Government is planning to build an underground through this area. It is also interesting to note that building an underground is not at all as expensive as we were led to believe earlier. The Karachi Mass Transit Programme (KMTP) elevated Corridor One that the Canadian firm was to build in 1998, was costing us US$ 44 million per kilometre. In Istanbul, the cost of the elevated system has been US$ 26 million per kilometre and in Delhi (where 23 per cent of the system is underground) the average cost has worked out to US$ 33 million. And what is more surprising is that in Madrid, a First World country, the construction cost for an underground system (through tunnelling which is the most expensive of all alternatives) has worked out to US$ 53 million per kilometre! As such, six kilometres of underground on M.A. Jinnah Road is economically quite feasible. Its technical feasibility on the other hand was never questioned.

Given what has been discussed above, a rail based mass transit system for Karachi must be subsidised by the government so as to make its fares comparable with other modes of public transport. It must also make maximum use of the rail corridor and provide protection to our cultural heritage along M.A. Jinnah Road so that it can be subsequently upgraded and restored. And finally, if we wish to solve our growing traffic problems, then the rail based mass transit system has to be a part of a larger city traffic and transport plan of which land-use planning and protection is the most important element.

(06 October 2003)

http://www.urckarachi.org/mass.htm

i think the best thing to do would be to add different lines to it. keep the yellow line and add a red or a blue line which would run in the middle of the city. say starting from nazimabad to clifton. another one from clifton to karsaaz or gulistan-e-johar. in that way it would cross most of the major cities.


swerveut thanks for your effort making the picture out of the Google Earth pictures.
Rkhan the yellow line in swerveut's picture is the current KCR. Here is the planned KCR route which will cover most parts of the city.

http://irfca.org/docs/maps/karachi-circular-railway.jpg

Why I am against KCR extensions:

- KCR uses standard railway lines which are hard to lay through the inside of the city. They are inflexible and will have to have a lot of demolition work done in order to incorporate them. Karachi certainly cant afford that.
- Any KCR extension would be at-grade, meaning, level to the ground, which will hardly solve traffic problems and just contribute to more accidents and traffic jams due to level crossings
- KCR uses noisy technology. My grandparents once used to live close to the KCR line when it used to be functioning, and the noisy trains would pass every hour and make living hell.
- KCR uses polluting locomotives which we can certainly use less of
- KCR extensions are not very flexible.

Why I support KMTP:
- its a much more efficient and construction friendly layout
- More technologically up-to-date as opposed to the century old KCR
- more urbane, would make the city look good
- can follow existing road networks with ease
- wont have grade crossings and wont block any road traffic
- passes MUCH closer to residential neighbourhoods and routes traditionally taken by commuters unlike the KCR which only passes at certain points where you have to get to first. So switchover to KMTP will be very routine and easy for commuters to do.


What changes do I want in the current KMTP plan:
- DO AWAY WITH THE MAGLEV!! WE DONT NEED IT!!!
- Probabaly use the same kind of monorail used in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. They look good and efficient and very sleek!
- KEEP THE INNER CITY SECTION OF CORRIDOR I UNDERGROUND to avoid damage to the old city heritage (thats only a few kilometers underground and wouldnt be too expensive)


heres another map I created with reference to the KMTP master plan (http://www.american-maglev.com/projects/karachi.jpg) that shows how the KMT will cross the city if constructed.

I say, KMTP, full speed ahead!!

http://img462.imageshack.us/img462/7862/kmtpsatellite7ml.th.jpg (http://img462.imageshack.us/my.php?image=kmtpsatellite7ml.jpg)

KCR was built just for what Karachi is going through; the Brits knew it would become a large city someday. Too bad they shut it down; screwed up Karachi really bad.

Obviously if it had been running, extensions would have been made far in advance. Now that's out of the question; KCR is what it is know it's not going to change. NOW it's a matter of adding new tech...Mass Transit anyone? God how long do these people have to wait?

Hey will the KCR also serve National Stadium? Saw the Karachi match; a classy awesome crowd deserves a railink to the stadium.

100% agreed with swerveut. KMTP with overhead monorail link are, IMO, the best option.


Hey will the KCR also serve National Stadium?
From the looks of it; No.

KCR was built just for what Karachi is going through; the Brits knew it would become a large city someday. Too bad they shut it down; screwed up Karachi really bad.



The Brits didnt shut it down. Inefficient Pakistan Railways did in the late 70's to early 80's. In the British times, there also used to be a Tramway system in the inner city of Karachi which served areas not close to the railway track. Its line used to run from Cant. station to Saddar and from Saddar to the City Station along I. I. Chundrigar and M. A. Jinnah roads. The tramway had to be removed later though (after Pakistan had been made) because traffic became congested and it was impractical to have a tram line running at-grade on already congested city streets.

So we've had a mass transit system earlier. We just didnt manage it right. And now our requirements have changed and traffic arteries are clogged, but the transit system is being delayed as much as possible.

Picture of the old Tram:
http://www.historickarachi.com/images/Khi%20Historic%202.jpg

Tram lines on Bunder Rd (M. A. Jinnah Rd)
http://www.historickarachi.com/images/karachi2%201953.jpg

http://www.historickarachi.com/images/Karachi%20old%20Bundar%20rd.jpg

Holy Crap! I had to dig up this thread all the way back from December, 2005! :shocked:

KARACHI: The Ministry of Railways and JETRO have completed preparations with regard to the Karachi Circular Railway, and the Japanese government has been asked to start work on the project as soon as possible. Syed Mustafa Kamal, nazim of Karachi, said that this was an important and inevitable project for Karachi, and that its completion would make modern and comfortable commuting possible in the city. He made these comments while addressing a meeting with JETRO’s new country director, Minoru Uga, the outgoing director, Hiro Miakwa, and JETRO expert, Kokyo Kenny Tamaki.

“We are thankful to the Government of Japan and the Japanese companies for joining us in important projects for Karachi, especially the KCR and steel bridges projects.” Kamal also assured the Japanese companies that all cooperation would be extended towards them, and they would be fully encouraged to invest in mega projects.

JETRO’s country director appreciated the nazim’s vision for fast development plans, particularly flyovers, underpasses, and other mega projects, and said that Karachi would soon become a modern and beautiful city. He also assured JETRO’s full cooperation in these and other projects.

SITE UC Nazims prepare uplift plan: The nazims of all the union councils of SITE town have chalked out a comprehensive plan for developmental work in their areas. This was stated by the naib nazim of SITE town, Syed Badshah Khan, while talking to different delegations at his office on Monday.

Khan said the present town administration was serving the citizens and working towards their welfare. He asked officials to facilitate the masses and help solve their problems, and said no leniency would be tolerated in this regard.

Cleaning of Chakora Nullah inspected: Shah Faisal Town Nazim Muhammad Imran inspected the cleaning of Chakora Nullah on his visit to the UC 1 Natha Khan Goth on Monday. EDO Works and Services Amanullah Chachar, who accompanied the nazim, told him that Chakora Nullah has a large number of overhead bridges making it a big nullah of the metropolis. He assured the nazim that repair work of all these bridges would be completed soon.

Naib Town Nazim Ali Akbar, TMO Syed Barkaat Ahmed Rizvi and other UC nazims and councillors were also present on the occasion. agencies

Daily Times - Online Edition 07/23/07 (http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007\07\24\story_24-7-2007_pg12_1)

What's KCR? That railway track we have?

KCR = Karachi Circular Railway

Its basically the local trains network ...

What happened to the plans of building a subway?

KCR = Karachi Circular Railway

Its basically the local trains network ...
I thought so. I hope this plan never takes off. KCR is a shitty idea. Who the hell would wanna travel in those shit boxes that don't even cover relevant areas?

I thought so. I hope this plan never takes off. KCR is a shitty idea. Who the hell would wanna travel in those shit boxes that don't even cover relevant areas?

:sly:

There are buses plying on those routes which are chock full o' people everyday and your saying that the KCR is useless! Not only will they start the service again but they will also extend it. The KCR comes all the way to Nazimabad, Paposh Nagar and there are thousands of poor people who will travel in the KCR because it is more efficient than buses and the ticket will cost a fraction of the price of a bus ticket. A bus ticket costs around Rs. 12-15! Thats insane! A person making minimum wage cant afford that on a daily-basis. The KCR will definately take hundreds of buses off the roads and will facilitate thousands of commuters. And its a start!

The elevated rail/subway plan is called the "KMTP" (Karachi Mass Transit Programme) and it is still in the works. Mustafa Kamal stated in his recent interview that work will start on the KMTP shortly and the loan for it is already approved.

the residents of those areas WILL :D, you've got your car, I 've got my bike...we will BURN gasoline...and the rest will live happy ....

KCR will never start will it. Since 2005 they've been talking about doing something and have done nothing!

I thought so. I hope this plan never takes off. KCR is a shitty idea. Who the hell would wanna travel in those shit boxes that don't even cover relevant areas?

not only that

imagine how hot will it be inside these things:nuts:

Have you guys even seen the trains that run on the KCR?

Seriously, go to the Cantt Station and you'll check it out yourself, the trains are pretty good, actually much better then the trains that run on the regular tracks.

You can even spot them, their white in colour with blue and red stripes, and it has a "Karachi Circular Railway" banner on it, their one of the many chinese trains that the PR got.

I saw it when I went to drop off my Grandma to the station heading for Lahore :cheers:

stinkin' cynics! :no:

Stupid cynics.

@Fahad

They are good for inter-city travel, not intra-city.

@ooga

It's not being a cynic, just an opinion. I don't feel I have an obligation to feel positive about everything. How'd you feel if they start running Amtrak in New York, and it doesn't even go to Manhattan?

Karachi looked more modern then than it does now

@Fahad

They are good for inter-city travel, not intra-city.

@ooga

It's not being a cynic, just an opinion. I don't feel I have an obligation to feel positive about everything. How'd you feel if they start running Amtrak in New York, and it doesn't even go to Manhattan?

Fact of the matter is that it still serves a large swathe of the Karachi populace, it is cheaper and more efficient than buses and any other form or road transportation, after its planned extension it will serve an even greater area and it has the ability to reduce a large number of buses and otehr public transport currently choking Karachi's roads!

I really dont understand why your against the idea of KCR? Ok tell me why you dislike KCR? And please dont site the "appearance of the train" as a reason because that is just ludicrous!

Mumbai Local Trains are also the ugliest ones in the World....but the system is probably the best in the World...Central Control room is technologically the most efficient.

^^
If the KCR is revived .... it will definitely be a success ... no doubt in it

I think what they should do is start the KCR while also going for their KMTP/Light-rail project on areas where the KCR doesnt run, and integrate the two at certain places where both meet.

KARACHI, Aug 30: Despite the availability of the feasibility report, work on the planned revival of the Karachi Circular Railway has not kicked off since its revalidation report is yet to be received from the UK consultant M/s Scott Wilson.
Similarly, the Karachi Mass Transit Cell has initiated the updating of the Karachi Mass Transit Study 1999 under the Asian Development Bank funding programme for the next 40 years, Dawn has learnt. The KCR project’s feasibility was prepared by the Japan External Trade Organisation (Jetro), which also arranged a soft loan of $850 million for it. To be implemented on a build, operate, transfer (BOT) basis, the project was given for revalidation under the instructions of Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz since the federal government is to act as the guarantor.

The Malaysian firm with which the city district government Karachi (CDGK) had earlier signed an MoU for the implementation of a light rail (tube) on an elevated track has been asked to furnish a guarantee by November 2007, along with proof of its experience in such projects.

However, reliable sources say that fresh bids for the project are likely to be invited before the implementation agreement.

According to Sindh chief secretary Ejaz Qureshi, who presided over the last meeting that reviewed the Karachi Mass Transit Programme (KMTP) and the KCR revival, the projects require land for the installation of tracks, depots, workshops, stations, administrative facilities, an operation control centre, stabling and other requirements. Therefore, the federal government wanted the project cost weighted by foreign consultants and a monetary guarantee from the contracting firm that would ensure the timely completion of the project. The foreign consultants will offer advice on how best to implement the project without unnecessarily inconveniencing commuters, and asses the minimum amount of land required.

Mr Qureshi told Dawn that land belonging to the provincial government, the Karachi Port Trust (KPT), Pakistan Railways and the CDGK is required by the Malaysian firm for the project where the firm wanted to set up ancillary facilities for its smooth operation and for commercial use to offset the cost.

According to the firm, the requirement of the land at Tower was assessed to be 26 acres, and 36.2 acres at Sohrab Goth. The cost of these pieces of land would be in billions of rupees and could not be transferred to the firm without ascertaining its minimum requirement after doublecheck with consultants for the sake of transparency.

Significantly, however, according to a speech delivered on August 28 by the federal minister for Ports and Shipping, Babar Khan Ghauri, the KPT has reservations about the KMTP developer’s intention to use the 27 acres for commercial purposes.

M/s Scott Wilson’s report is likely to be made available within two months, thus paving the way for the initiation of the KCR project and the KMTP.


http://epaper.dawn.com/ArticleText.aspx?article=31_08_2007_119_001

Mumbai Local Trains are also the ugliest ones in the World....but the system is probably the best in the World...Central Control room is technologically the most efficient.

Kill him! Kill him now!!!

Kill him! Kill him now!!!
Depends on the criterion really. If it's no. of people moved per car, then Bombay probably shits all over the world. They probably have more people hanging outside than there are sitting in normal trains in other places.

Depends on the criterion really. If it's no. of people moved per car, then Bombay probably shits all over the world. They probably have more people hanging outside than there are sitting in normal trains in other places.

Its not the biggest in terms of daily users, that would be Tokyo's subway system.

Its not the biggest in terms of daily users, that would be Tokyo's subway system.

Tokyo is the world's largest city

Its not the biggest in terms of daily users, that would be Tokyo's subway system.
I know, I was just joking about the number of people per car. They are packed. I wonder how they breathe in there.

Kill him! Kill him now!!!

Kill who man?? Kill who? :@:@:@

Well by the WORLD i meant Third World............................................... sorry for not being specific..

Kill who man?? Kill who? :@:@:@

Well by the WORLD i meant Third World............................................... sorry for not being specific..

I take my fatwa back.

I take my fatwa back.

:(

Just be careful, who knows maybe IR may end up as the mayor for Karachi in a few years :tongue3:

Tumharay munh mein Khaaaaak....:rant: :gaah: :wallbash:

Paris kaha hota to baat bhi theeeeee..........................

To main kehta: "tumharay munh mein GHEEE SHAKAR" (means Halwa of shab-e-baraat :D)

by Paris...i didnt even mean or think about PARIS HILTON :|

Paris--u mean Paris of Pakistan aka Hyderabad

I would love to be mayor of Karachi. My motto would be "top quality, or nothing".

I would kick butt big time.

^^Karachiite-wishful thinking. Mukmuka mukmuka would make you what has been our true business culture.

I would love to be mayor of Karachi. My motto would be "top quality, or nothing".

I would kick butt big time.

Just a couple of lacs might get you that seat from "Bhai"

:yes:

Just a couple of lacs might get you that seat from "Bhai"

:yes:

That's the downside. To be mayor of Karachi I have to deal with Big Bhai.

You can start with Hyderabad? Maybe well see you in a few years instead of that guy in the Hyderabad projects :banana:

^^Karachiite-wishful thinking. Mukmuka mukmuka would make you what has been our true business culture.
True.

That's the downside. To be mayor of Karachi I have to deal with Big Bhai.
You have my support. Run for the Mayor of Karachi!
























































I need a few plots in a few areas.

why u people make a second thread for KCR?

ECNEC approves Rs 128.60 bln for KCR: Kaira
Updated at: 1830 PST, Thursday, September 03, 2009

ISLAMABAD: Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) on Thursday approved 20 projects worth Rs 260 billion including Karachi Circular Railway System to provide modern transport services to the people, said Minister for Information and Broadcasting Qamar Zaman Kaira.

Briefing the media persons about the decisions taken by the ECNEC meeting chaired by Finance Minister Shaukat Tareen here, he said the project like Karachi Circular Railway would be expanded to the other major cities of the country.

The Minister said the meeting also decided to conduct third party evaluation of the project costing Rs 128.60 billion with the sole objective to ensure transparency and saving of cost.

Qamar Zaman Kaira made it clear the third party evaluation would not affect the overall cost as well as execution of the project.

The Minister said the other main project approved was to allow Pakistan Railways to purchase 202 Rail coaches to make the organization more viable and profit-making entity.

The Minister said Pakistan Railways was in dire need of such coaches and the ECNEC has accorded the approval for the Rs 15.9 billion project in view of the reforms being introduced in the organisation.

Similarly, he said, 16 other water related projects were approved including 10 small dams projects to ensure water storage and make Pakistan self-sufficient in food area.

These all projects would cost Rs 57 billion, the Minister said adding that in the current financial year the government has allocated an amount of Rs 2.5 billion for the purpose.

He said the amount earmarked for the small dams in four provinces included for Balochistan Rs 800 million,NWFP 700 million,Sindh Rs 500 m,and Punjab Rs 500 million.

“We will try our best to complete small dams projects to ensure autarky and more such dams would also be constructed in other feasible areas”, Kaira said while replying to a question.
http://www.thenews.com.pk/updates.asp?id=86321

Is Light Rail Transit System part of KCR ??

Is Light Rail Transit System part of KCR ??

NO

Is KCR equivalent to Mass transit? I mean in efficiency, durability & all that.

Rs 128bn project gift for citizens’

* Bilour says work to start from 2010, end in 2014
* Says fare will start from Rs 15 and will rise 50 paisas per stop

Federal Minister for Railways Haji Ghulam Ahmad Bilour said on Saturday work on the Rs 128 billion mega project of Karachi Circular Railway would start from 2010 and will be completed till 2014.

The Awami National Party (ANP)-backed minister regarded the recently approved Karachi Circular Railway project as a gift to the citizens of Karachi saying he travelled to the city to congratulate the citizens.

“It is a project for all and all the citizens would benefit from it,” Bilour requested the citizens to work for the success of the project.

He said he faced many difficulties while getting the project approved from the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC).

“It is no doubt a unique project and would benefit all,” he said adding it would decrease the traveling problems of the citizens of Karachi.

He regretted that railways remained the most affected by recent violence in the country saying whenever some untoward incident occurs in the country people attack railway installations and I fear if this happened to the Karachi Circular Railway it would be an irreparable damage to the citizens of Karachi and people across the country as Karachi is mini-Pakistan, the minister said.

He said 439 bogeys of trains were burnt across the country in violence that erupted after the assassination of Benazir Bhutto.

“During that violence 53 railway stations were burnt and signals worth Rs 4 billion destroyed,” the minister explained.

Explaining the details of the Karachi Circular Railway project he said 20 trains will leave from the stations within an hour and the fare would start from Rs 15 and would increase 50 paisas per stop. “This fare would reach a maximum limit of Rs 22,” he said. He said the length of the track of the Karachi Circular Railway would be 43 kilometres.

“Four-kilometre track would be underground and 22km would run through elevators,” he explained. Replying a question the Bilour said the first priority before the start of the project would be to take care of the families affected by the project. He linked the deficit of the Ministry of Railways to lack of investment.

“How it can progress if you are not going to invest in its infrastructure,” he said and added that the Karachi Circular Railway had failed earlier due to lack of investment.

“From 1964 to 1985 people liked to move through trains as Karachi Circular Railway was a good way of communication,” he said, adding after 1985 people lacked interest in it because of poor infrastructure and unscheduled timings.

Bilour, answering a question, said he was aware of the poor conditions of the trains going to Balochistan saying, “What can I do, everywhere the condition is same.” However he hoped after the introduction of the new bogeys the trains going to Balochistan would be revived on priority basis.

The deficit of Pakistan Railways has touched Rs 3,500 billion, the minister revealed, however he quickly added, “Though the deficit is large yet Ministry of Railways across the globe except India are in deficit.”

Gift :happy:

KARACHI (updated on: September 06, 2009, 02:24 PST): The new Japanese government has suspended aid to the Third World countries and Pakistan will be the worst hit among these states, Aaj News reported. According to the channel, Japan's new government has taken this decision to provide free education to its citizen. Democratic Party of Japan, which has recently won the elections, has taken this decision in the light of its manifesto.

The channel said that Karachi Circular Railway (KCR) project is in jeopardy following the Japanese government decision.

Link:http://www.brecorder.com/latestindex.php?latest_id=10540&cindex=00&current_page=1

Aasman sai gira khajorr main atka :bash:

:rofl:

:lol: KCR to shadi hone se pehle he bewa hogaya :tongue3: :rofl:

http://express.com.pk/images/NP_KHI/20090907/Sub_Images/1100709626-1.jpg

http://express.com.pk/images/NP_KHI/20090907/Sub_Images/1100709629-1.jpg

I was expecting this when I heard about the change in the Japanese government

There is new life in KCR project with federal government's funding promise. I attempted to create a Google Map of the Karachi Circular Railway based on maps from Wikipedia etc. This map gives an idea of the railway routes. Since I don't live in Karachi, the map may not be correct. I am improving it with time as more info becomes available:

http://yasirniaz.blogspot.com/2009/09/karachi-circular-railway.html

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_yAXo3P0oA_o/SqT51FrOtYI/AAAAAAAANLY/VCkWdEvuhgc/s400/KCR_google_maps.jpg
(http://yasirniaz.blogspot.com/2009/09/karachi-circular-railway.html)

today i read in newspaper that new japnese govt is going to change its policy about 3rd world countries n they are going to reduce funds for these countries .. pakistan will get effects of the changing of policy n specially this KCR projects according to jang newspaper

if m not wrong japnese are also financing this project

Here we go again. Let's forget the KCR for now.

^^for ever.........:bash:

Karachi Circular Railway, revival plan of which was approved by ECNEC last week, was constructed and opened for traffic in two phases in the year 1964 and 1970.

It was originating from Drigh Road Station on main line and after crossing Shahrah-e-Faisal passes through populated areas of Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Gulistan-e-Johar, Liaquatabad, Nazimabad, SITE, Baldia, Liyari, Kharadar and finally touches Karachi City Station.

Due to lack of investment in infrastructure, Rolling Stock etc. the operational efficiency was marginalized, causing increase of running time, lesser number of trains resulting in reduction of passengers and eventually KCR was closed for passenger traffic in December 1999.

The Project Director KCR Ijaz Khilji, in an exclusive interview told APP that in order to plan an effective public transportation system in the city of Karachi, numerous studies were arranged but due to various reasons mainly lack of funds no project could be implemented. According to him Government of Pakistan decided to revive Karachi Circular Railway (KCR) in two phases as Modern Commuter System for the citizens of Karachi.

It was also decided that KUTC (Karachi Urban Transport Corporation) will be formed with Ministry of Railways, Government of Sindh and City District Government Karachi as shareholders on basis of their Equity.

In October 2005 Japan External Trade Organization (JETO) working under the aegis of Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) Government of Japan has carried out a Feasibility Study of KCR in close coordination with PR, GOS, CDGK and other related agencies / institutions.

The Final Report (March 2006) recommended the Revival of KCR as a viable project for mitigating the commuter problems of the citizens of Karachi.

The donor agency namely JICA sponsored a Final Study named SAPROF (Special Assistance for Project Formulation) for the project and the same would form the basis of negotiation of loan between the Govt. of Pakistan (GOP) and Govt. of Japan (GOJ).

Ijaz Khilji said Karachi Urban Transport Corporation was incorporated on 8th May 2008 in SECP (Securities Exchange Commission of Pakistan) as Public Limited (Not Listed) with nine Directors on Board four from Pakistan Railways, two from Govt of Sindh, two of City Dist. Govt. Karachi and one Director from Private Sector.Its authorized capital of Rs. 10 billion. He said KUTC will be the vehicle for the implementation of KCR project and will oversee the management of KCR. Project Director said on completion of the project an international operator of repute will be appointed for operations and maintenance of KCR on the pattern of successful role model of Singapore Mass Rail Transit (SMRT).

Speaking about Project cost , he said, the donor agency namely JICA sponsored a Final Study named SAPROF (Special Assistance for Project Formation) for the project and the Final report received in April-09, with modified estimated cost from US$ 872.316 million to US$1558.8 million due to upgradation of Karachi Circular Railway Karachi.

i can't believe this

read an article on brecorder yesterday that the japanese government is STILL giving aid to third world countries but might half it...but its aid shall continue to Pakistan due to its commitments in the friends of developing Pakistan conference. Also Pakistan always recieves special treatments from Japanese govt due to their long ties. So dont believe the media hype.

.
Round and round on train (http://www.jang.com.pk/thenews/sep2009-weekly/nos-13-09-2009/pol1.htm#4)

The Karachi Circular Railway project may need a hefty sum to be rebuilt according to present day needs but it certainly provides a solution to many of Karachi’s traffic issues

Shahid Husain

In 1966, when I was in school, one of my favourite pastimes was to have a ride on Karachi Circular Railway (KCR). My classmate Javed Iqbal and I would sneak from our homes, buy a 25 paisa ticket and ride on the wonderful train which traversed between Wazir Mansion in Khardar area up to Drigh Road. We made sure that we would not disembark from the train because in that case we had to buy another ticket. There was no ticket checker and we would ride on the train for hours, to and fro.

In those days film Akhri Station of Shabnam and Rahman was drawing huge crowds and we had named KCR after that film.

After a lapse of so many years KCR is again making headlines and 16-million citizens of Karachi are being told that it would be revived. According to newspaper reports the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council has decided to revive KCR as a "modern commuter system" at a cost of Rs 128.5 billion. The committee suggested that the railway tracks along the main lines should be made dual from Karachi City Station to Drigh Road and around 700,000 commuters would be able to travel by it on a daily basis.

Although the investment to revive KCR seems to be huge but given the fact that billions of rupees are being spent on constructing faulty overhead bridges and underpasses that transform into huge ponds during rains, KCR seems to be a rational option. More so because as many as 700,000 passengers would be able to avail the facility daily.

It may not be easy to translate the dream into reality because most of the railway land has been encroached upon on both sides of the tracks and it would be a formidable task to evacuate these people. The ruthlessness with which railways land has been encroached upon could be gauged from the fact that the famous Awami Markaz on Shahrah e Faisal and built by slain Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto with much fanfare is on railway’s land.

The KCR is a public transport facility established for the masses of Karachi in 1964 under the regulation and control of Pakistan Railways with a very low fare and efficient service. KCR was initially built forming a small circle using the main line as the base, taking off on the mainline at Drigh colony instead of Malir Cantt, according to a report prepared by Urban Resource Centre (URC), a non-government organisation headed by noted architect and planner Arif Hasan.

The railway planners initially aimed to use this line as by-pass for freight traffic and accordingly built a big goods train’s yard at Wazir Mansion. The KCR was, however, hardly used for freight traffic and was primarily used as commuter rail system, the report said.

According to a report, the KCR could serve as a better means of transport communication than the prevailing buses and minibus system that pollutes the city a lot less and is a faster and more convenient option. The following facts depict the importance of the KCR, according to the report:

*26 passengers can travel in a minibus, 100 in a double decker, 300 in an air-conditioned light rail bogey and 1800 can travel in a heavy rail. *Expansion rate of the city is from 100-750 sq km (i.e. 7.5 times), and public transport demands have multiplied 12 times.

*5646 public buses ply in the city and about 1700 more buses would be needed in the near future.

KCR is important because it passes through all major working areas of Karachi and also gives coverage to all important residential areas. It is situated at a distance of 1-1/2 kilometres from Schon Circle in Clifton and less than half kilometers from Boat Basin. It is a 5-12 minute walking distance from Pakistan Secretariat, the High Court, the KMC building, the City Court and Passport Office. It runs along I.I. Chundrigar Road and is located less than half a kilometre from Kharadar. It is half a kilometre from the Fish Harbour and about half a kilometre from Lea Market. Pathways to these locations and a shuttle to Lea Market is all that is required because a one-kilometre walk takes no more than 10 minutes, and this is universally accepted as appropriate for linking with a transport system, according to the report.

"There was no logic behind terminating the operations of KCR," Mohammad Nauman, an associate professor at the prestigious NED University of Engineering and Technology told TNS. "It catered to the needs of hundreds of thousands of commuters, especially the working class people who worked at Sindh Industrial Trading Estate (SITE) and industrial areas of Landhi."

He said in the mid-1970s, the country faced a textile crisis and a large number of industrial workers were laid off. Hence the number of passengers commuting through KCR dropped and became an excuse to terminate the services of KCR.

No efforts were made to preserve railway tracks and infrastructure thereafter by Pakistan Railways, government of Sindh and the City District Government Karachi and the vast swathes of land on both sides of the tracks were occupied. Even the Karachi Building Control Authority (KBCA) and cantonment boards allowed construction around the reserved areas on both sides of the tracks. Near Wazir Mansion station one even found wooden planks of railways being openly sold by unscrupulous elements.

"If revived and extended, sub-urban railways running at grade level would also serve the workers of various cottage industrial areas of the city and upcoming industrial areas besides SITE and industrial centres of Landhi already covered by tracks," Nauman said.

He pointed out that it could cater to the needs of North Karachi up to Northern Bypass besides Sohrab Goth and Gulshan-e-Maymar and would serve commuters from North Karachi, New Karachi, Surjani Town etc. He said KCR could be developed along Sharea Faisal in the first phase and up to Education City in city’s suburbs in the second phase.

Obviously KCR would give a boost to economic activity and productivity and save precious time that is lost in commuting in Karachi. "Bus stops should be made at railway stations and could serve as the starting point," Nauman said.

The land prescribed on both sides of the track dates back to colonial era and given the fact that a major chunk of land has been occupied it could be reduced as has been done in Japan, Nauman said.

Cheers:cheers:

NNt5BSlq4rc

Japan Bank to release soft term loan for KCR
:banana:


Thursday, September 17, 2009
Karachi

The newly-approved Karachi Circular Railways (KCR) project has received a soft-term credit facility from the Japan Bank of International Cooperation. This was disclosed by the Economic Minister at the Pakistan Embassy in Japan, Iftikhar Babar, who has been the driving force in coordinating between JICA, the railways ministry, and the EAD and the Planning Commission for the past one year to get this project approved as soon as possible.

He said that the JBIC will issue a US$1,600m loan on 0.2 per cent interest rate, repayable in 40 years, including a grace period of 10 years. The project is being supervised by the Karachi Urban transport Company, along with a 60-per cent share of the Pakistan Railways (60 per cent), Sindh government (25 per cent) and CDGK (15 per cent).

The main features of the projects Babar said are daily service to 700,000 commuters; 22 elevated km (out of a total of 55 km) to avoid trespassing and crossings; 11 elevated railway stations; a six-km-long underground connection to the Karachi airport; a 3.5-km-long tunnel to connect three railway stations between Gulshan-e-Iqbal and Gulistan-e-Jauhar; six-minute waiting time between trains at peak hours; an e-ticketing or smart card system to allow only paying passengers to use these facilities.


inshallah it shall work out

Good news atlast.........

Can't wait for 2011 :banana:

Liaqatabad Station
http://express.com.pk/images/NP_KHI/20090926/Sub_Images/1100721964-1.jpg

Wtf :hahano:

Amazing! It's perfect. And just look at the track. Does any country in this world have such developed mass transit system? :lol:

Amazing! It's perfect. And just look at the track. Does any country in this world have such developed mass transit system? :lol:

apni country ka mazak uratay ho isi liyai yai haal ha .. mazak uranay ki jaga koi kam kar lo country k liyai tow is kisim ki chezain bhi behtar ho sakti hain..

hAn jaO Aadil tum TraCk pe se jungLi jhaRiaan saAf karO..mai 25 watt k philips k bulb leker ata hun peele wale station roshan kerne k lye :lol:

LOL.

@Rizu
Yaar abhi tou main chhota hun. Bara ho jaaun tab yaad dilaana.

I wonder how much its going to cost to clean all this up, do you guys know the train tracks near Johar? The one behind that huge under construction mall? They actually paved a road over the track :crazy:

KCR plan by myself. let me kno any mistakes here. comments & suggestions are welcome :cheers:


http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2515/3978025503_e27cce3fed_o.jpg

I don't know whether its right or wrong but nice work done........

Can you change the name from "shah faisal base" to "PAF Faisal base"

Can you change the name from "shah faisal base" to "PAF Faisal base"

:tongue3:

Can you change the name from "shah faisal base" to "PAF Faisal base"

DONE :)

MoR directed to start KCR project's tendering process: 'third-party validation put in pending'

GHULAM ABBAS
KARACHI (October 05 2009): The Cabinet Division has directed the Ministry of Railways to go ahead with the tendering process of the Rs 128.5 billion Karachi Circular Railway (KCR) Project, pending third party validation of the project, to avoid further delay.

The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) had earlier asked the Pakistan Railways to conduct third party validation of the much awaited KCR project while approving it in the council's session on 3rd September. The validation of the project "Revival of KCR as Modern Commuter System" was made mandatory to ensure best design and assess cost escalation estimated by Special Assistance for Project Formation (SAPROF).

But to avoid any delay in the execution of the project, sources said, the federal government had decided to remove the condition of validation by western experts. They said the validation move was likely to further delay the project, as the modification and inordinate delay had already raised the project's cost to $1.58 billion from the original cost of $ 872.316 million.

However, for the transparent and smooth execution of the project, the sources said the validation by a foreign country was needed for such a mega project. As the government of Japan was funding the important project the material mostly imported from the funding country was to be ensured as cost-effective, they added.

They said the Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA), which had conducted different studies of the project with the guidelines of the World Bank had also raised no objection over the validation by a third party.

However, showing his unawareness regarding pending validation of the project, Ejaz Khilji, Managing Director, Karachi Urban Transport Corporation (KUTC) said the third party involvement would not affect the process of the KCR project. The KCR project was to be funded by the government of Japan through the Japan Bank of International Co-operation (JBIC). Tokyo had commissioned 100 percent funding for the project under "STEP Loan" at 0.2 percent mark-up rate for a 40-year payback time, including a 10-year grace period. The government of Japan had earlier promised to release $1.58 billion STEP loan to be used for the KCR project and it had commissioned a study under the aegis of Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO).

They said KUTC would be the vehicle for the implementation of the project having on its Board-Directors the senior officials of Pakistan Railway, Government of Sindh and City District Government Karachi (CDGK).

People expected to be affected by the resumption of the Karachi Circular Railway (KCR) would be resettled on the Lyari Expressway model, and the resettlement plan would be tailored to the satisfaction of Pakistan Railways and the residents of relevant areas.

This was decided at the fifth meeting of the board of directors of the Karachi Urban Transport Corporation (KUTC), held on Tuesday and chaired by Sindh Chief Secretary (CS) Fazalur Rehman.

The meeting reviewed the progress of KCR, and debated probable resettlement plans, including the allocation of 300 acres of land and the disbursement of over Rs817m to carry out different activities of the project.

Officials told The News that the participants of the meeting believed that the resettlement plan should be carried out on the pattern of Lyari Expressway, and each affected person should be given an 80-square-yard plot as well as financial compensation of Rs50,000. The Board of Revenue was assigned with assessing the availability of at least 300 acres land in Malir or Bin Qasim Town for the purpose. The KUTC executive committee of would then look into their suggestions and submit a report within a week.

The CS asked the KUTC managing director to expedite the survey of encroachments around the railway track allocated for the KCR and submit it on November 1. The finance department was also instructed to procure the required funds released in consultation with the planning and development department and the KUTC.

The executive committee of the KUTC has been directed to consult and coordinate with the land utilisation wing of Board of Revenue and the Malir Development Authority to identify suitable land to accommodate the affected.

Officials said that the KUTC required over Rs817m during the current financial year to carry out different activities, including resettlement of squatters, topographic survey, soil investigation and third party evaluation of the project.

As per the requirements of the project, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) would provide 93.5 per cent cost of the project, while the remaining 6.5 per cent – about $101.1m dollars or Rs8,088m – would be provided by KUTC stakeholders, including Pakistan Railways, Sindh govt and the City District Government Karachi (CDGK). Officials said that over 4,305 households are likely to be affected by the KCR.

According to the share of the stakeholders, Pakistan Railways was supposed to release over Rs490m, the Sindh government was to contribute Rs204m, while the CDGK had to supply Rs127m during the current financial year. However, official sources said, thus far, no funds have been released by any stakeholders.

Sources said that JICA sponsored the final study, the special assistant for project formation (SAPROF) for the project, which in turn would prove to be the basis of a loan between Pakistan and Japan. The estimated cost of the project has been modified from over $872m dollars to over $1,558m due to various reasons, while the route length of the KCR is stated to be over 43 kilometres.

It may be mentioned here that President Asif Ali Zardari had approved the project in April 2009 and directed that a resettlement plan be formulated. Officials claimed that the resettlement action plan was under way, which was likely to be completed by end of October.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3442/3993005238_bfe42fe2fa_o.jpg

KCR Upgrade Approved
Wednesday, 21 October 2009

Railway Gazette reported that conversion of the Karachi Circular Railway into a high capacity commuter line is expected to begin in the Q1 of 2010, a decade after trains stopped. The revival project approved by the National Economic Council on September 3rd could see services resume in 2013.

Opened in Phases II in 1964 and 1970, the 296 kilometers KCR starts from Karachi City station and loops around the west of the city to rejoin the main line at Drigh Road, 145 kilometers from the terminus. It closed in 1999 as an economy measure, but there have been several attempts at revival.

The current project is backed by Japan International Cooperation Agency which has agreed soft loans to fund the bulk of the work. Responsibility for reviving the KCR has been delegated to Karachi Urban Transport Corp established in May 2008; this is owned 60% by PR, 25% by the Sindh provincial government and 15% by the city.

Consultants have recommended an extra pair of tracks between Drigh Road and Karachi City to segregate KCR services from the main line, increasing the cost from PKR 875 million to PKR 15 billion. There will be a 4 kilometers tunnel through Gulistan-e-Johar plus 225 kilometers on viaduct, leaving just 166 kilometers at ground level. The 433 kilometers line will serve 27 stations of which 11 will be elevated and 2 underground.

Electrification, resignalling and automated fare collection are proposed. A fleet of EMUs will be needed, with a crush loading capacity of 1 400 passengers. Trains are expected to run at 6 min headways, giving a nominal capacity of 700 000 passengers per day.

(Sourced from Railway Gazette)
http://steelguru.com/news/index/2009/10/20/MTE2ODUy/Karachi_circular_railway_upgrading_approved.html

Can anyone tell, is there any work in progress on ground. I heard that in the existing track from cantt to Drigroad they have issued circular for the demolition of homes on the way for two additional tracks.
Note that Awami markaz is also built on the railway land :bash:

433 Kms and only 27 stations :weird:

^^thats 43 kms I think........

Can't be 433. Even the distance from Karachi to Hyderabad is 150 miles. 433 KMs is a lot of distance.

^^ True!! even NY City metro has total length of 420kms
Also distance b/w isb and lahore is approx 380kms :ohno:

There will be a 4 kilometers tunnel through Gulistan-e-Johar plus 225 kilometers on viaduct, leaving just 166 kilometers at ground level. The 433 kilometers line will serve 27 stations of which 11 will be elevated and 2 underground.

^^Even the calculation is wrong ; 225+166+4=395 not 433 :tongue3:
Our Journalism strike again

Resettlement issue still unresolved despite completion of satellite imagery by Suparco

The latest initiative to revive the Karachi Circular Railway (KCR) has yet again been interrupted due inaction by the stake-holders. While the Sindh government, Pakistan Railways and City District Government Karachi (CDGK) are yet to provide pledged funds, there has also been a delay in formulating the resettlement plan, an official associated with the KCR told The News.

This is despite the fact that the satellite imagery of KCR route has already been prepared by Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (Suparco).

The Resettlement Action Plan (RAP) study to initiate resettlement of the people living along the route of the KCR was supposed to be completed by the end of October but the official said that the study would now hopefully be completed by the end of November. The issue of allocating around 300 acres land for the affected people has still not been resolved. Over Rs817 million was expected to be released by the stakeholders during the current financial year 2009-10 for this purpose. However, not even a single rupee has been released, the official said.

Official sources told The News that the fourth meeting of the board of directors of Karachi Urban Transport Corporation (KUTC), which runs the project, was chaired by Chief Secretary Sindh Fazal-ur-Rehman back on June 6. The meeting took up the issue of allotment of 300 acres land and release of Rs490 million by Pakistan Railways, Rs204 million by the Sindh government and Rs122 million by the CDGK.

The revival of KCR at the cost of Rs128.6 billion with a modified PC-1 was approved at the meeting of Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) on September 3.

Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) will be funding 93.5 per cent cost of the project, and the rest of 6.5pc i.e. US$101.1 million (Rs8088 million) will be borne by KUTC stakeholders.

The officials said that during the current financial year 2009-10 an amount of over Rs817 million was required by KUTC for carrying out resettlement of squatters, carrying out a topographical survey, soil investigation, third party evaluation, etc.

They said that KUTC had recently sent letters to the Ministry of Railways, Sindh government and the CDGK to release the funds in order to ensure uninterrupted progress of the KCR project - however, no funds have so far be released.

Regarding the resettlement plan, the officials said that during the fourth meeting of KUTC board of directors it was decided that the senior member Board of Revenue (BoR) and district coordination officer (DCO) Karachi will make arrangements for the allocation of 300 acres of land for the purpose. It was also decided that DCO Karachi will function as focal person in this regard.

Subsequently, the chief secretary held a meeting with Sindh government and Railways officials wherein it was decided that a committee comprising officials of the BoR, KUTC and Pakistan Railways will finalize the site for the resettlement of squatters.

Official sources said that the Revenue officials had identified 100 acres of land in Bin Qasim Town but it was not considered “suitable” by KUTC due to hilly area and its location at a distance of about six kilometers from National Highway. Moreover, having the land in chunks will increase the cost of infrastructure facilities.

The sources said that, on September 7, a meeting was chaired by DCO Karachi in which managing director KUTC presented a proposal that about 300 acres of Pakistan Railways land near Shah Latif Town (old site of Marshaling Yard of PR) was under litigation with Malir Development Authority.

He suggested that this issue could be settled amicably outside the court on two grounds: a) MDA or BoR should re-notify the boundaries of Shah Latif Town in accordance with the land (1344.19 acres) transferred to the Sindh government marked “A” and “B” on the plan, b) PR will transfer the suit land portion “C” under their control for the resettlement of affected persons and utilize the land to be cleared of squatters along mainline for its operational requirements planned on the PR land at Jumma Goth.

Officials say that resettlement of squatters is a critical prerequisite for the success of the project as the donor agency, JICA, requires that the re-settlement sites should be earmarked prior to signing the loan agreement.

In order to finalize these issues, another meeting of KUTC board of directors was expected to be held on Friday (tomorrow).

I wonder how many people living along the proposed route of the KCR are living illegally, why should the government compensate them? :ohno:

yes ur rite...but those people will never let that space free if they are not compensated since they have built their houses from several years....

I wonder how many people living along the proposed route of the KCR are living illegally, why should the government compensate them? :ohno:

Just wait and you'll have NGOs on your arse, same thing happened with the LEW.

Even if it will complete in 2013, it will be a bonus for all of us considering the current situation........

I don't even see it being completed by 2020, and plus KCR doesn't even serve many of the areas that are heavily populated now, it's an ancient route and we never expanded beyond that.

I don't even see it being completed by 2020, and plus KCR doesn't even serve many of the areas that are heavily populated now, it's an ancient route and we never expanded beyond that.

yup thats only 43 kms........

I mean it doesn't even go to the airport, that's an issue right there.

This thing cannot even remotely serve the people as well as a metro system would.

I agree, and there are places where the tracks do not even exist. Full carpeting has been done on top of tracks to accommodate roads.

It's a pity that Karachi has expanded in such a haphazard way that it's nearly impossible to expand unless you go underground.

Japan to provide KCR loan after encroachers' resettlement: National Assembly body told


ZAHEER ABBASI
ISLAMABAD (November 21 2009): Japan will provide $1.457 billion soft loan for Karachi Circular Railway project (KCR) only after completion of the Resettlement Action Plan (RAP) of affectees/encroachers. Sources said that officials of the KCR have told the National Assembly standing committee planning and development that Japan would not provide the loan for KCR without completion of RAP survey.

The study for the settlement of encroachers. in consultation with the Jica, is currently underway and is scheduled to be completed by the end of November 2009. About 300 acres land of Board of Revenue of Sindh at Jumma Goth has been identified for the resettlement project for affectees/encroachers.

The resettlement plan study would be displayed at Jica website for World Bank and Jica review ahead of WB appraisal mission. The loan agreement would take place in July-August 2010 while the study/design loan might be treated separately by Jica for completion of preliminary work.

The meeting was told that final study to revive KCR--constructed and opened for traffic by Pakistan Railway in1964--was conducted by the donor agency, Jica, and the estimated cost of the revival project is $1558.8 million. Jica will contribute 93.5 percent funding, while remaining 6.5 percent will be borne by the implementing agency, Karachi Urban Transport Corporation (KUTC).

Giving details on implementation status, the meeting was apprised that Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) study has been approved, while the RAP study would be completed on November 30, 2009. The KUTC has invited Expressions of Interest (EoI) for validation of final report prepared by Saprof and fixed December 2009 as the last date for submission of proposals. The Satellite Imagery of KCR route has been completed by Suparco, while route preliminary alignment work, in progress, would be completed by December 30, 2009.

The allocation of 300 acres of land at Jumma Goth by Board of Revenue, Government of Sindh for Resettlement of Project Affected Persons is being awaited as well as release of funds of Rs 817 million for the year 2009-10 against the allocation of Rs 750 million in Public Sector Development Projects (PSDP) and Rs 60 million in annual development plan of Sindh government. The implementing agency has requested the federal government for duty waiver on imported equipments as well as in relending mark up. The KUC has proposed the same relending rate as the mark-up of lending agency to KUC.

The annual revenue earning of Karachi Circular Railway Project has been estimated as Rs 9.123 billion, with Rs 4.327 billion rail and Rs 4.8 billion non-rail revenue. Sources said that deducting Rs 2.881 billion operation and maintenance (O&M) cost, annual gross revenue surplus of KCR has been estimated at Rs 6.246 billion.

Out of Rs 6.246 billion, Rs 4 billion would be earmarked for repayment of loan, while depreciation cost has been estimated at Rs 1.6 billion. Rs 0.646 billion has been estimated as total net revenue surplus from the project. The proposed completion period of the project is three years, on commencement by the end of 2010, with $1.457 billion soft loan from Japan and $101.3 billion by Karachi Urban Transport Corporation (KUTC). The loan of donor agency, Jica, @ 0.2 percent mark-up would be repayable in 40 years, including 10 years grace period.

The study for the settlement of encroachers, in consultation with the Jica, is currently underway and is scheduled to be completed by the end of November 2009. About 300 acres land of the Board of Revenue, Sindh, at Jumma Goth, has been identified for the resettlement project of affectees/encroachers.

After completion, the resettlement plan study would be displayed at Jica website prior to WB appraisal mission visit to Pakistan. The loan agreement is expected to take place in July-August 2010 while it is likely that Jica would separately treat the study/design loan so that preliminary work could be completed. The route's preliminary alignment work would be completed by December 30, 2009 while the allocation of 300 acres of land by Board of Revenue

Government of Sindh for RRA is being taken up. They said that Sindh government and City District Government Karachi have signed Terms of References (ToRs) in October, 2009 of the transport study of City of Karachi with JICA. Priority Corridors-1&II will be identified on completion of study while financing and implementation of another study will be carried out for the Identified corridors-I and II by Jica.

Karachi Circular Railway to be on track by 2013 (http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2009/12/28/story_28-12-2009_pg7_20)

KARACHI : The work on the revival of Karachi Circular Railway (KCR) would start in 2010 and it would start operation for public in three years. According to KCR project director, on completion of the project, an international operator of repute would be appointed for operation and maintenance of KCR on the pattern of the successful role model of Singapore Mass Rail Transit. The donor Japan International Cooperation Agency had sponsored a final study Special Assistance for Project Formation for the project and the final report was received in April 2009 with modified estimated cost from $872.316 million to $1558.8 million. As per the study, the route length of KCR would be 43.12km : elevated track increased to 22.49km, about 4km tunnel and 16.63km on ground. app

Cheers:cheers:

When this begins construction, Im sure our innate Paki competitive genes would activate and we will soon see an envious Shariff screaming the following week: "Jab karachi me ho sakta hai, phir lahore me kyun naahin." And VOILA! Lahore's begins hers the following month.

And I love this pakiness...

http://ejang.jang.com.pk/1-18-2010/images/05_01.gif

When this begins construction, Im sure our innate Paki competitive genes would activate and we will soon see an envious Shariff screaming the following week: "Jab karachi me ho sakta hai, phir lahore me kyun naahin." And VOILA! Lahore's begins hers the following month.

And I love this pakiness...

this could be so true... :) lahore with an LRT will make it the best city of the world...

this could be so true... :) lahore with an LRT will make it the best city of the world...

Shahbaz Sharif met with China State Construction Company couple of times for Lahore Mass Transit.......don't know whats the situation now

27 stations on 43 km track is less..they should construct more stations

^^Also, 43 kms is not enough for Karachi.......May be 43 kms will be the Phase-I

any updates yet? i mean pics?

^^Pics of what???????????

They haven't started yet.....

ohw lol, any hope they will start construct it?

^^Nothing is done so far.......

any updates yet? i mean pics?

Good one! :rofl:

Circular Railway project hits a snag
GHULAM ABBAS
KARACHI (January 24 2010): The long-awaited Karachi Circular Railway (KCR) project has hit a snag because of the issue of what sources said "re-lending" of around $1.58 billion by the Japanese government. The transfer of the amount to Karachi Urban Transport Corporation (KUTC) through the federal government would face a 17 percent cut, making the project unviable, sources said.

They said this procedure of releasing funds would face the drastic cut of 5 percent "risk rate" and almost 12 percent "interest rate", making total deduction of 17 percent. Interestingly, they said, the corporation had not addressed this issue since the project was going through different studies during the last few years.

"If the issue of deduction, under different heads, is not resolved timely, the project would face another delay which could ultimately increase its cost," sources said, adding that the government of Japan, which would invest $1.58 billion on revival of KCR to mitigate traffic problems in this metropolis, would issue the funds to government of Pakistan directly.

To address the re-lending issue, sources said, a meeting was held on December 18 in Economic Affairs Division (EAD), Islamabad, but it was yet to be resolved by the concerned authorities. However, they said, it was decided in the meeting that the foreign funds, to be received by the federal government, could be used through Pakistan Railways (PR).

The Ministry of Railway would later release the fund to KUTC, which is the vehicle for the implementation of the project having on its Board-Directors the senior officials of PR, Government of Sindh and City District Government Karachi (CDGK).

An urgent meeting in this regard was needed to solve the issue without any further delay, as the project's cost has already been increased from $872.316 million to $1.58 billion due to the persistent delay, they added. However, Ejaz Khilji, Managing Director, KUTC, said the corporation was seriously considering the re-lending issues and it would be resolved within the next few days.

As KUTC has already handled many issues regarding the important project, the transfer of funds was not a big problem, he added. It is to mention here that the KCR project was to be funded by government of Japan through the Japan Bank of International Co-operation (JBIC). Tokyo has commissioned 100 percent funding for the project under "STEP Loan" at 0.2 percent markup rate for a 40-year payback time, including a 10-year grace period.

The project, with the completion of different studies like Environmental Impact Assessment Study (EIAS) and resettlement action plan etc under the aegis of Japan External Trade Organisation), has already been approved by Executive Committee of National Economic Council (Ecnec).


But we will hear in few days as KUTC is working out alotta details

Circular Railway project hits a snag
GHULAM ABBAS
KARACHI (January 24 2010): The long-awaited Karachi Circular Railway (KCR) project has hit a snag because of the issue of what sources said "re-lending" of around $1.58 billion by the Japanese government. The transfer of the amount to Karachi Urban Transport Corporation (KUTC) through the federal government would face a 17 percent cut, making the project unviable, sources said.

They said this procedure of releasing funds would face the drastic cut of 5 percent "risk rate" and almost 12 percent "interest rate", making total deduction of 17 percent. Interestingly, they said, the corporation had not addressed this issue since the project was going through different studies during the last few years.

"If the issue of deduction, under different heads, is not resolved timely, the project would face another delay which could ultimately increase its cost," sources said, adding that the government of Japan, which would invest $1.58 billion on revival of KCR to mitigate traffic problems in this metropolis, would issue the funds to government of Pakistan directly.

To address the re-lending issue, sources said, a meeting was held on December 18 in Economic Affairs Division (EAD), Islamabad, but it was yet to be resolved by the concerned authorities. However, they said, it was decided in the meeting that the foreign funds, to be received by the federal government, could be used through Pakistan Railways (PR).

The Ministry of Railway would later release the fund to KUTC, which is the vehicle for the implementation of the project having on its Board-Directors the senior officials of PR, Government of Sindh and City District Government Karachi (CDGK).

An urgent meeting in this regard was needed to solve the issue without any further delay, as the project's cost has already been increased from $872.316 million to $1.58 billion due to the persistent delay, they added. However, Ejaz Khilji, Managing Director, KUTC, said the corporation was seriously considering the re-lending issues and it would be resolved within the next few days.

As KUTC has already handled many issues regarding the important project, the transfer of funds was not a big problem, he added. It is to mention here that the KCR project was to be funded by government of Japan through the Japan Bank of International Co-operation (JBIC). Tokyo has commissioned 100 percent funding for the project under "STEP Loan" at 0.2 percent markup rate for a 40-year payback time, including a 10-year grace period.

The project, with the completion of different studies like Environmental Impact Assessment Study (EIAS) and resettlement action plan etc under the aegis of Japan External Trade Organisation), has already been approved by Executive Committee of National Economic Council (Ecnec).


But we will hear in few days as KUTC is working out alotta details

its not an average car or load shedding , but meaness like this which let people think for never going back to pakistan ever again ... :( :( :(

^^:ohno:

edited

Liaqatabad Station
http://express.com.pk/images/NP_KHI/20090926/Sub_Images/1100721964-1.jpg

Anyone knows k double track hoga ya single track loop??? i searchd but didnt able to find yet..:ohno:

Rytnow i m using google maps..& can clearly see blunders :lol: many stations r in Katchi Abadis & away from the road..just like in above pic..

*Liaqatabad station is 250m far from the main road...

*KU station is 600m + far from road..behind Alladin...KU station should be infront of Sindbad on SFC 2..people can easily take buses from their to KU & walk to sindbad & Alladin

*N.Nazimabad Station is 250+ mtr away from road.it should be near the road..so people can easily access Abbasi Shaheed Hsptl, AO Clinic, Jinnah uni for women, Matric board offic..if it remain on same location..people wiill use buses instead of KCR ( if build ) :tongue3:
*
Orangi station is next to NaLLA in nazimabad:lol::lol:..dont know wats d reason of constructing station there..they could construct it in centre of Abadi..but they chose NALLA :lol:

*there is no station in Jouhar between KU Station near NIPA & Depot Hill Station near Shahraefaisal...:ohno::ohno:

* There should be a station near Civic View Turning in 13D..Gilani Station is 800m away from there..& if they construct station there..another 10,15000 people will be served by that station..

Well a long waited project for Karachities is still in pipe line.....at this moment there are two mandatory requirements along with many others which has to be fulfilled by KUTC, Govt. of Sindh and other concerned authorities, 1) land acquiring for resettlement 2) Resettlement of Project Affected People ..... keeping in mind that without finalization of these two, the donor agency JICA is not willing to sign the contract.

Now, lets have a look at the problems and the reasons why its taking that much time........

1 & 2) Resettlement of PAPs could not be completed until unless KUTC or Govt. of Sindh provide them an alternate place to live. Yes, thats how it goes, Pakistan Railway and Malir Development Authority is fighting head to head for the 357 Acres land at Jumma Goth since 1983. That land is been proposed for the resettlement of the PAPs but there is still no progress that how to end the battle between the two authorities.

The government’s efforts to revive Karachi Circular Railway (KCR) are reportedly being hampered by land issue between the Malir Development Authority (MDA) and the Pakistan Railways (PR). Donors are insisting on rehabilitating affected people prior to issuing loans, The News has learnt.

The main issue is that the PR’s land has been encroached upon, and JICA, the prospective donor, is insisting on arrangements for the settlement of the affected people before it provides financial assistance for the KCR, Land Utilisation Additional Secretary-III Dr Azhar Hussain said.

The dispute between the MDA and the PR over land in Bin Qasim Town had continued since 1982, and the chief minister’s advisor on planning and development, Dr Kaiser Bengali, had recently called a meeting to resolve the land issue. The MDA was of the view that it would withdraw its petition from the Sindh High Court if it were provided with alternative land and money for infrastructure development, Dr Hussain said.

Meanwhile, sources said that following the meeting about the KCR chaired by Dr Bengali on February 6, another meeting, chaired by Dr Hussain, was held on March 12 to expedite efforts to resolve the land issue.

It was decided that the MDA and the PR authorities will ‘urgently’ withdraw their cases in view of the decisions taken in the February 6 meeting. According to official sources and documents available with The News, the MDA has agreed to submit to a competent authority, a proposal pertaining to its land withdrawal, alternative land and incurred expenditure.

It was also decided that the City District Government Karachi and the Board of Revenue will continue to search for a ‘suitable’ alternative piece of land in lieu of the settlement of the land under question (350 acres in Deh Khanto,Bin Qasim Town). This land was selected for the rehabilitation of the people affected by the KCR project.

Officials said that the land dispute between the MDA and the PR was discussed at length during the meeting. The MDA representative informed the participants of the meeting about the withdrawal of the case pending before the SHC. He also raised the question of alternative land in lieu of withdrawal from 350 acres in Deh Khanto, and expenditure incurred so far on the land.

The Bin Qasim Town additional district officer (revenue) and Mukhtiarkar (revenue) informed the meeting that a piece of land as an alternative was identified in Deh Kotierero. This land, which belongs to the Sindh government was, however, declared ‘unsuitable’ by the MDA.

The land utilisation department will play an ‘active role’ after the withdrawal of the case and the approval of the Sindh chief minister for processing the case, an official privy to the decisions taken during the February 6 meeting told The News.

EXPRESS NEWS 9pm Bulletin, 28 april 2010:

Railway minister said k work on KCR will begin at the end of 2010 & will be completed in 2012. there will be 40 small stations too..:ohno:
small stations??

he didnt talk about underground stations/ underground part of tracks ( 4-5kms in johar )

EXPRESS NEWS 9pm Bulletin, 28 april 2010:

Railway minister said k work on KCR will begin at the end of 2010 & will be completed in 2012. there will be 40 small stations too..:ohno:
small stations??

he didnt talk about underground stations/ underground part of tracks ( 4-5kms in johar )

are you talking about this article?

ISLAMABAD, April 29: Railways Minister Ghulam Ahmed Bilour said on Thursday his ministry would start work on a project to revive Karachi Circular Railway (KCR) in a few months after signing a loan agreement with Japan.

The Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) had earlier estimated the cost of the project at Rs128.6 billion. Under the arrangements being finalised, Jica will arrange 93.5 per cent of the funds for the project through a soft-term loan. The remaining cost will be borne by stakeholders of the Karachi Urban Transport Corporation (KUTC).

Mr Bilour told a news briefing that the donor agency would appoint a reputable operator for operations and maintenance of the KCR while the KUTC would look after its management.

The project would be on a public-private partnership basis and an international consultant would be hired for designing it. A satellite imagery of KCR route was completed by the Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (Suparco).

Mr Bilour said the KCR would be revived in two phases and the KUTC would be formed by his ministry, Sindh government and city district government of Karachi as shareholders on the basis of their equity.

Mr Bilour said the project would be made operational by 2014. Work on the first two stages would start simultaneously on two eight-hour shifts.

“As many as 290 trains per day will operate at six minutes headway in each direction with a capacity of 1391 passengers per trains, 30,602 passengers per hour and 0.69 million passengers per day,” the minister said.

He said that stations would have computerised ticketing, automated ticket gates, vending machines and elevators. The entire KCR will have electric traction infrastructure and modernised signalling and telecommunication system.

http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/national/work-on-karachi-circular-railway-to-start-soon,-says-minister-040

CM Sindh announced in Sindh Assembly today that the work on KCR will start at the end of this year as talks with JICA is in final phase....

CM Sindh announced in Sindh Assembly today that the work on KCR will start at the end of this year as talks with JICA is in final phase....

Why do we even have a thread for this? Seriously? All these people do is announce dates.

Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah Friday told the Sindh Assembly that work on the Karachi Circular Railway (KCR) was likely to start by the end of the current year.

The chief minister was replying to a question asked by opposition’s Arif Mustafa Jatoi during the question hour.

The chief minister said the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) has already approved the project and work on it would be initiated with the help of Japan. He said the project would be completed by 2013, adding Japan would provide a soft loan of $900m for the project.

Sindh Local Government Minister Agha Siraj Durrani, while replying to a question by Marvi Rashdi, told the House that a building was declared illegal if it was constructed without obtaining the approval from the Karachi Building Control Authority (KBCA) or when a builder committed violation of the approved plan.

He said the KBCA has initiated legal action against builders or owners who were violating laws, by way of issuance of notices, demolition, etc.

127 roads: In a written reply to a question by Mohammed Hanif Shaikh, Durrani informed the House that 127 major roads were constructed or renovated by the City District Government Karachi (CDGK) between 2005 and 2009, easing traffic congestion.

To another question by the same member, the minister said the CDGK has formulated the Karachi Strategic Development Plan 2020 to set out a strategic framework and overall development direction and future pattern of the city up to 2020 and beyond.

Water: The minister told the House that Karachi was being supplied 640MGD water per day from the Indus and Hub sources, while the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board owned Gharo-1 and 2, Pipri-1, 2 and 3, COD Hill-1 and 2, NEK (Old), NEK (K-II) and Hub treatment plants.

Parks: To another question, he said the Parks and Horticulture Department of the CDGK had developed and renovated many parks in different areas between 2005 and 2008.

No uplift work: The minister said Malir Development Authority (MDA) had carried out no development work in the union councils of Ibrahim Hyderi, Landhi, Darsano Channo, Gadap, Thano, Konkar, Moiudan, Songal Millat Garden, Sahihdad Goth, Pir Bux Goth, Hashim Goth, Panwhar Goth, Ismail Goth and Hamal Goth between 2003 and 2004 and 2007 and 2008 because its uplift did not fall in the MDA’s ambit.

Durrani said the Lyari Development Authority could not carry out any development work in Union Council Manghopir in Gadap Town, and its other 11 union councils between 2003 and 2007 because they do not fall within the development plan of Scheme-42.

Karachi Urban Transport Cooperation Managing Director Ijaz Hussain Khilji told the Senate Standing Committee on Railways that the project to revive the Karachi Circular Railway (KCR) would be completed in three years A meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Railways was held on Monday in Karachi under the chairmanship of Senator Maulana Gul Naseeb Khan. Khilji informed the committee that project would be commenced with a cost of $1.5 billion with 93.5 percent loan from Japan, repayable in 40 years. The route length of total project will be about 43 kilometres with 25 stations. Trains would operate after every six minutes.

Why do we even have a thread for this? Seriously? All these people do is announce dates.

+1 :cry:

Bastards, Ooga should keel them.

IM ON IT!

The chairman of the Senate’s Standing Committee on Railways, Senator Gul Naseeb Khan, had alleged that the current railways minister as well as two of his predecessors had been equally responsible for the mismanagement and corruption in the railways.

“I believe that the three ministers, Ghulam Ahmed Bilour, Shaikh Rashid Ahmed and Javed Ashraf Qazi, are equally responsible for mismanagement and corruption in the railways,” the senator told a group of journalists here at the Qasr-e-Naz.

The senator, who is in the city to meet the people concerned on getting the Karachi Circular Railway back on its feet and to look into the issues of the employees colony, dispelled the “propaganda” that the railways was going through a crisis.

“Some officers of the Pakistan Railways are trying to prove it as a dead organization so that it could be privatized,” alleged the senator.

“I’m not in favour of privatization. The standing committee, however, will recommend to the government to make the organization an autonomous body,” he said.

The JUI-F senator said that he had been shocked to learn the extent of encroachments on the railway’s lands, an issue he would raise in the senate.

A sub-committee would present a comprehensive report on the grabbing of railway’s land and on the revival of the KCR, he said.

Maulana Gul Naseeb claimed that the revival of the KCR was now a matter of days as all the stake-holders had given their nod and that they only needed to sort out some legal issues pertaining to the lands owned by the railways.

He said that corruption, mismanagement and political interventions were some of the major issues haunting the organization.

He also said that lack of locomotives was also a major issue that needed to be resolved urgently.

The senator claimed that the factories of the Pakistan Railways, especially the one at Risalpur, could produce up to 75 per cent of the total number of locomotives required.

The chairman of the standing committee said that they had suggested to the government to constitute a commission over the fate of the railway lands retrieved from the encroachers.

He said that the committee would also suggest to the government to close all those routes that were a financial disaster.

The senator accused Shaikh Rashid Ahmed of deriving “political benefits” from the organization during his tenure as minister.

He picked out delays in departures and arrivals, luxuries enjoyed by the railway officers and unhygienic and uncomfortable trains as the chronic issues bedeviling the organization.

Regarding security to the railways installations and tracks, the senator said he would raise the issue in the senate.

Meanwhile, leaders of Pakistan Railways Mehnatkash Union called on Senator Gul Naseeb Khan and apprised him of their demands and issues.

They demanded of the senator to fix 50 percent quota in the organization for the children of employees and disband PRACS which was proving to be a white elephant and restore PNS Shifa on the railways panel.

The senator assured the delegation, comprising Abdul Majeed Solangi, Muqadar Zaman and Aurangzeb Tanoli, that he would personally take the matter up with the railways minister.

a subway would be better :(

But a subway would also cost a lot more.

But a subway would also cost a lot more.

true but it works much more effectively and doesn't take space on land.

People here will not use KCR like other countries people...there is a walking culture is other countries...or KCR will have few stations..yahan k log jo station k kareeb hain ya direct bus nahi jati jahan but KCR jati hai thori dur..wo jayenge..baki bus se he jaenge ya bikes se

I think the first place to make a subway in Pakistan should be Islamabad! It will be neat and organized due to the plan of the city! Its obviously hard to make it in old cities like Lahore and karachi!

Islamabad doesn't need a subway. Karachi has a population of over 15 million and is needed to solve the traffic problems.

I think the first place to make a subway in Pakistan should be Islamabad! It will be neat and organized due to the plan of the city! Its obviously hard to make it in old cities like Lahore and karachi!

Islamabad should be the last city to have a subway...karachi lahore and Peshawar should have it first considering their population density...Islamabad can have an overground railway network, cz of the available space and ease of construction...

Islamabad should be the last city to have a subway...karachi lahore and Peshawar should have it first considering their population density...Islamabad can have an overground railway network, cz of the available space and ease of construction...

hey islamabad/rawalpindi is the third largest cosmopolitan area of pakistan....these both cities deserve metro after lahore...and they should get combined metro.....

All i'm saying is that its easier! And Isloos population is growing day by day! But you guys are also right! Lahore and Karachi is where its really needed!

KCR track near Gharibabad :lol:

http://express.com.pk/images/NP_KHI/20100717/Sub_Images/1100999824-1.jpg

:laugh:

:lol:


Along with money, encroachment is also one of the reason of delay of this project....

luk at the Karachi uni station..who will use that station...its distance from both road is more than 750m ( shown in red lines )...3km from Karachi uni..


http://lh5.ggpht.com/_N5KLT_Un1l4/TEGjyioNovI/AAAAAAAAAlc/7SOhlQpwNfg/s800/ku%20kcr%20zoomout.JPG


now zoom in pic..it is located next to katchi abadis(shown in red)..who will go there..
station should be at blue spots..anyone wants to goto Karachi uni,NED uni, gulshan,jouhar..he can easily get bus from there..people can walk to Alladin,Sindbad,ICMAP, diffrnct institutes located near nipa chowrangi..
but who will walk from there if t they construct it on same location..its already 750+ m away from main road..

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_N5KLT_Un1l4/TEGjylayt6I/AAAAAAAAAi8/WzvvTu14PfI/s800/KU%20KCR.JPG

KCR track near Gharibabad :lol:

http://express.com.pk/images/NP_KHI/20100717/Sub_Images/1100999824-1.jpg

They should just start running a train on that track and bulldoze everything along the way :colgate:

luk at the Karachi uni station..who will use that station...its distance from both road is more than 750m ( shown in red lines )...3km from Karachi uni..


http://lh5.ggpht.com/_N5KLT_Un1l4/TEGjyioNovI/AAAAAAAAAlc/7SOhlQpwNfg/s800/ku%20kcr%20zoomout.JPG


now zoom in pic..it is located next to katchi abadis(shown in red)..who will go there..
station should be at blue spots..anyone wants to goto Karachi uni,NED uni, gulshan,jouhar..he can easily get bus from there..people can walk to Alladin,Sindbad,ICMAP, diffrnct institutes located near nipa chowrangi..
but who will walk from there if t they construct it on same location..its already 750+ m away from main road..

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_N5KLT_Un1l4/TEGjylayt6I/AAAAAAAAAi8/WzvvTu14PfI/s800/KU%20KCR.JPG

It's actually not that far in the first picture, and even if it is people can take shuttle buses from the station to the university.

They should just start running a train on that track and bulldoze everything along the way :colgate:

Excellent suggestion! Put Booga in a bulldozer and I will ride that thing throughout the entire path of the KCR, demolishing everything in my path to smithereens! :happy:

It's actually not that far in the first picture, and even if it is people can take shuttle buses from the station to the university.

its too far man..uni road is 800m+ far from station & rashid minhas road is 750m+ far from station...yahan k logon k liye half km he bht hota hai chalna..yahan to takreeban km hai..& it is not a gud place to build station there..compare how many people r getting benefit from current location & the location i mentioned..

its too far man..uni road is 800m+ far from station & rashid minhas road is 750m+ far from station...yahan k logon k liye half km he bht hota hai chalna..yahan to takreeban km hai..& it is not a gud place to build station there..compare how many people r getting benefit from current location & the location i mentioned..

I know what you're saying, this whole "oh no I have to stop right infront of my fucking door" mentality needs to go, people should walk or bus from stations.

^^yeah u r ryt..but that location is not suitable....if they build it ryt next to bridge...then many people will be beneftd by KCR..

At a time when efforts are under way to revive the Karachi Circular Railway (KCR), more Pakistan Railways (PR) lands along the proposed KCR tracks are being occupied by the land mafia in Karachi.

A visit to different areas of the city along the KCR tracks revealed that railway land was being grabbed by the land mafia on a daily basis. In the past week alone, several vacant plots belonging to the PR in Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Gulistan-e-Jahuar and Malir were occupied along the KCR tracks with concrete structures being erected at a fast pace.

Chairman Senate Standing Committee on Railways Senator Maulana Gul Naseeb had admitted that new encroachments had taken place along the proposed KCR tracks in the city. “I have personally visited several areas in Karachi and found that there are 30 places where the KCR land has been grabbed by political groups and the land mafia,” he said while talking to reporters during his recent visit to Karachi this month. However, he had vowed to raise the issue in Senate.

Currently, the KCR lands are in the possession of the Pakistan Railways and have yet to be handed over to the Karachi Urban Transport Corporation (KUTC). The corporation is working on KCR’s revival with the help of international funding and technical assistance.

Insiders in PR claim that while authorities consider resettlement of encroachers of KCR lands, more encroachments were being carried out by the land mafia and influential political groups who were seeking more compensation from the Pakistan Railways in exchange for vacating the lands.

The environmental impact assessment (EIA) carried out for the KCR project in 2009 had predicted that around 42,000 people would be affected and must be relocated to other areas. However, others beg to differ and say that hundreds of thousands of people would have to be relocated.

“Currently, PR and Sindh government are at loggerheads over the land as the latter claims that it owns the land and had given it to the railways for operational purposes only,” Senator Gul Naseeb Khan told The News.

Officials say that since the KCR project is funded by Japan Bank of International Cooperation (JBIC), the KUTC will have to follow its guidelines for resettlements.

According to sources, the socio-economic survey pertinent to the Resettlement Action Plan (RAP) has also been sought to collect the demographic conditions of the project area. Also, on the basis of 1894 Land Acquisition Act, only legal owners and the tenants registered with the Land Revenue Department or possessing formal lease agreements will be eligible for compensation or livelihood support.

KUTC’s Managing Director Ejaz Khilji told The News that so far the railway lands have not been handed over to the corporation so the occupation of these lands does not concern him or his organisation.

“Currently, these lands are in the possession of Pakistan Railways. It is currently negotiating with various organisations for the re-acquisition of its lands from several other organisations like Karachi Port Trust (KPT), Cantonment Boards and the Pakistan Army,” he maintained.

He, however, was optimistic of KCR’s revival and said, “All stakeholders, including the Sindh government, City District Government Karachi and other land owning authorities in Karachi are doing their best to see that the project materialises.”Khilji said that his organisation was following the guidelines of JICA and donor agencies including JBIC, World Bank and Asian Development Bank for the project.

“We have the EIA of the project approved from the environment protection agency, the re-settlement project is also underway for which CDGK and Sindh government, the satellite imagery of the encroachments along KCR tracks has been done and the feasibility of the project is also complete,” he said.

http://www.kutckcr.com/KCR-Final%20Report.pdf

^^ Interesting Report!

Reports says k there will be addition & relocation of stations too..
they showd new station between Gilani & Liaqatabad..it mean station just After Lyari Expressway Interchange Or may b near phatak of 13d..

Sharmila seeks early revival of KCR
KARACHI: Advisor to Sindh Chief Minister Ms Sharmila Farooqui has asked the relevant authorities to ensure timely revival of Karachi Circular Railway (KCR) project so as to provide a fast and comfortable mode of transport to Karachi ’s residents.
The KCR is one of the largest socio-economic projects, which will not only create thousands of jobs but also give a major boost to travel facilities besides generating much need revenue for the country, so there is need to revive it as soon as possible, she said in a statement on Wednesday.
Madame Sharmila also said the public transporters have established a monopoly in the city by running shabby buses despite charging high fares.
“They cause trouble to the citizens by running overcrowded vehicles. It is irony that the concept of taking passengers seat by seat is no more in the city as passengers are being loaded on rooftops of the buses in peak hours,” she observed.
Madame Sharmila said the Sindh government has attached top priority to this vital project of public interest as 700,000 passengers in the city will get a luxury travel facility through this project on daily basis, while 246 trains will be operated and each train will have capacity to carry 1236 passengers. She asked the Pakistan Railways to ensure revival of KCR as soon as possible so as to provide better traveling facilities to the citizens as per international standards.
She said that upon completion of the KCR project, an international operator of repute would be appointed for operation and maintenance of KCR on the pattern of the successful role model of Singapore Mass Rail Transit.
Madame Sharmila also said that the KCR was a success project in the past, as it was a profit-making venture of the Pakistan Railways but it was closed, causing trouble to Karachiites.
”The railway public transport is universally considered as commuter-friendly, cost-effective and timesaving. Almost all big cities in the world especially metropolis have better railway transport systems so we also need it,” she said.
http://regionaltimes.com/02sep2010/metrokarachinews/sharmila.htm

This is not gonna happen until PPP govt is citing on the top, i dont know what is their problem in starting this project when japan is agreed to provide loan.

http://ejang.jang.com.pk/10-7-2010/images/02_06.gif

translate pls:)

The Karachi Electric Supply Company (KESC) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Karachi Urban Transport Corporation (KUTC) to explore the opportunities for providing electricity to Karachi Circular Railway.

The KCR will be revived as a modern commuter system to meet the transportation need of the citizens of the metropolis, a statement said.

The revival of KCR will ultimately change the face of Karachi. The total route length of the dual tracks on the Karachi Circular Railway Project Stage-I and Stage-II would be 43.12 kilometer (Karachi City to NIPA - 22.86 kilometers and NIPA to Karachi City Station and along mainline - 20.26 kilometers) with 24 stations. Trains will be operated at six minutes interval and will have a capacity of 942 to 1391 passengers, 18,840 to 30,602 passengers per hour and 0.69 million passengers per day.

The entire KCR project will be provided with electric traction infrastructure and modernised signaling and telecommunication system. The MoU will open dialogue between KESC and KUTC for the provision of about 120 megawatts for the project.

KESC is in the process of expanding its generation facilities in Karachi and intends to provide adequate supply of electric power to the KCR project upon its completion and operation in 2014.

Karachi Urban Transport Corporation is the implementation authority established to manage and execute the Karachi Circular Railway (KCR) project.

The project is to be funded by the government of Japan. The KCR stations will have latest facilities of computerised ticketing, automated ticket gates, vending machines and elevators.

Buses will be operated to and from KCR stations to facilitate passengers from different destination also.

Good news I guess.

Government fails to remove snags hitting KCR revival: project cost escalation feared
RECORDER REPORT
KARACHI (December 04, 2010) : The government seems to be least interested in revival of Karachi Circular Railway (KCR), as the important project to revive the KCR is hitting many snags and the government has not yet removed the same. The Economic Affairs Division, Islamabad has not yet resolved the issue of "re-lending" of funds for the $1.58 billion foreign funded KCR project.

Besides, the Sindh Government has not yet transferred the land needed to resettle the thousands of KCR project's affectees living along the railway lines, sources said. It is feared that if the several issues related to the foreign funded project were not resolved, which would ultimately delay the project, the cost of the project would increase.

According to the sources, if the re-lending issue was not solved timely and the fund was released under the available procedure, the project funds would face the drastic cut of 6.8 percent "risk rate" and almost 12 percent "interest rate" making the total deduction 18 percent from the approved fund.

The direct transfer of the amount to KUTC through the federal government, which would face an 18 percent cut, would make the project unviable, sources said, adding that the project which required to have a safe route for the transfer of fund from the foreign country while avoiding any reduction in terms of risk or interest rate.

During the last five months, the high ups of Economic Affairs Division and Planning Commission could not arrange high level meeting to settle outstanding issues related to the Japan-funded project. Besides, the provincial revenue department has not transferred the ownership of land to KUTC from Malir Development Authority (MDA) and other institutions to the KCR affected people.

However, the department, what the sources claimed, was facing land related issues after the flood, which has devastated/ washed away acres of agricultural/cultivable lands in the province. It is to be mentioned here that the KCR project, aimed at mitigating traffic problems in this metropolis, has to be funded by government of Japan through the Japan Bank of International Co-operation (JBIC). Tokyo has commissioned 100 percent funding for the project under "STEP Loan" at 0.2 percent mark-up rate for a 40-year payback time, including a 10-year grace period.

http://www.brecorder.com/news/business-and-economy/pakistan/1130276:news.html

Government fails to remove snags hitting KCR revival: project cost escalation feared
RECORDER REPORT
KARACHI (December 04, 2010) : The government seems to be least interested in revival of Karachi Circular Railway (KCR), as the important project to revive the KCR is hitting many snags and the government has not yet removed the same. The Economic Affairs Division, Islamabad has not yet resolved the issue of "re-lending" of funds for the $1.58 billion foreign funded KCR project.

Besides, the Sindh Government has not yet transferred the land needed to resettle the thousands of KCR project's affectees living along the railway lines, sources said. It is feared that if the several issues related to the foreign funded project were not resolved, which would ultimately delay the project, the cost of the project would increase.

According to the sources, if the re-lending issue was not solved timely and the fund was released under the available procedure, the project funds would face the drastic cut of 6.8 percent "risk rate" and almost 12 percent "interest rate" making the total deduction 18 percent from the approved fund.

The direct transfer of the amount to KUTC through the federal government, which would face an 18 percent cut, would make the project unviable, sources said, adding that the project which required to have a safe route for the transfer of fund from the foreign country while avoiding any reduction in terms of risk or interest rate.

During the last five months, the high ups of Economic Affairs Division and Planning Commission could not arrange high level meeting to settle outstanding issues related to the Japan-funded project. Besides, the provincial revenue department has not transferred the ownership of land to KUTC from Malir Development Authority (MDA) and other institutions to the KCR affected people.

However, the department, what the sources claimed, was facing land related issues after the flood, which has devastated/ washed away acres of agricultural/cultivable lands in the province. It is to be mentioned here that the KCR project, aimed at mitigating traffic problems in this metropolis, has to be funded by government of Japan through the Japan Bank of International Co-operation (JBIC). Tokyo has commissioned 100 percent funding for the project under "STEP Loan" at 0.2 percent mark-up rate for a 40-year payback time, including a 10-year grace period.

http://www.brecorder.com/news/business-and-economy/pakistan/1130276:news.html





This will never be built. If we remember, there was a mass transit project for karachi a decade back and a turkish company worked on it, but it never materialized. In fact kaarchi is an orphan city, no body owns it, hence ther is no chance that some big project like KCR will be built. If it would be for lahore, it had alreday been completed long time ago.

I think this project is just gonna be like Kala Bagh Dam and it will never be built and we will always hear about the problems and delays and in the process there will be a lot of corruption.

This will never be built. If we remember, there was a mass transit project for karachi a decade back and a turkish company worked on it, but it never materialized. In fact kaarchi is an orphan city, no body owns it, hence ther is no chance that some big project like KCR will be built. If it would be for lahore, it had alreday been completed long time ago.

That my friend is really not a very good statement. You have no idea what are you saying. Its now more than 20 years since the Lahore Mass transit project is being discussed in Lhr. Everything is complete only practical execution is required. Why that much delay if the statement you said is correct? And can you please mention here any major project(except LRR which too is not complete yet) that was proposed and then completed in Lhr in last two decades?

Plz refrain from giving such statements that can result in starting a City vs city discussion.

And Karachi Mass Transit for the last 40 years.

That my friend is really not a very good statement. You have no idea what are you saying. Its now more than 20 years since the Lahore Mass transit project is being discussed in Lhr. Everything is complete only practical execution is required. Why that much delay if the statement you said is correct? And can you please mention here any major project(except LRR which too is not complete yet) that was proposed and then completed in Lhr in last two decades?

Plz refrain from giving such statements that can result in starting a City vs city discussion.


I think you extracted the wrong meanings out of what he wrote. He didnt say that if it will happen then it would be for Lahore, because at first thats what I thought he wrote too. He was saying that even if Lahore were to have a Mass Transit then it would have had one a long time ago.

Heres my take on LRMTS. This is a project that would take 5 years at the very least to build, even if they just build 1 line, because as we all know construction in Pakistan is done at a snails pace. Considering the amount of time it would take to build it, I think that if Shahbaz was actually keen on building it then he would have done so when he first came to power as that would have given him allot of time to execute it and then take credit for it. There is no such politician in Pakistan who would do anything without taking credit for it and I dont think they are stupid enough to execute a project especially one as big as LRMTS, secure funding for it, deal with the logistical nightmare and then let the next government finish it and take credit for it.

So I think that Shahbaz wont do anything for the LRMTS until a new political dispensation is in place.............of which he is a part.

What say you?

That my friend is really not a very good statement. You have no idea what are you saying. Its now more than 20 years since the Lahore Mass transit project is being discussed in Lhr. Everything is complete only practical execution is required. Why that much delay if the statement you said is correct? And can you please mention here any major project(except LRR which too is not complete yet) that was proposed and then completed in Lhr in last two decades?

Plz refrain from giving such statements that can result in starting a City vs city discussion.

But there is a difference, japan has agreed to give the loan of $1.5bn for KCR, but there is no one paying 100% for lhr mass transit, and japs are saying take it and build KCR, but our dirty politicians dont want to build it.

I think you extracted the wrong meanings out of what he wrote. He didnt say that if it will happen then it would be for Lahore, because at first thats what I thought he wrote too. He was saying that even if Lahore were to have a Mass Transit then it would have had one a long time ago.

Heres my take on LRMTS. This is a project that would take 5 years at the very least to build, even if they just build 1 line, because as we all know construction in Pakistan is done at a snails pace. Considering the amount of time it would take to build it, I think that if Shahbaz was actually keen on building it then he would have done so when he first came to power as that would have given him allot of time to execute it and then take credit for it. There is no such politician in Pakistan who would do anything without taking credit for it and I dont think they are stupid enough to execute a project especially one as big as LRMTS, secure funding for it, deal with the logistical nightmare and then let the next government finish it and take credit for it.

So I think that Shahbaz wont do anything for the LRMTS until a new political dispensation is in place.............of which he is a part.

What say you?

True that, I agree! That is really disappointing in our country, development projects benificial to general public have no meanings for our politicians, they just take the political scores out of it for their own benifit.

But still if he is really serious in starting the project in curent tenure of his, he can do so. Because I don't see any other party taking the majority in Provincial assembly in next election of 2013. These guys will still be in power, execute it in this tenure and complete it in next,thats the way to go if these ass***** are really serious about it. Another inside story that I am fimiliar with is that our bureaucracy in transport department is strictly against this project and they really do not want it to get build.

Sindh govt serious for revival of KCR project

KARACHI: Sindh government is serious for the revival of Karachi Circular Railway (KCR) project with a Japanese company to finance more than 93 percent cost of the project on easy instalments. The KCR project costs $1.558 billion. Adviser to the Sindh Chief Minister on Information Sharmila Farooqi said this while talking to various delegations here on Monday. She said that the route of the project is more than 43 kilometres and 689,000 passengers are estimated to travel daily and the circular train would pass through 24 stations. The present democratic government is fully aware of Karachi’s traffic problems and the revival of KCR project was the need of the hour and it would help reduce the problems of traffic, she added. She said that the project would be completed till 2014 and all necessary measures had been taken in this regard and the project would benefit millions people in Karachi. She hoped that the revival of the project would also reduce pollution in the city and completion of the project would mean the completion of another promise, committed by the Pakistan People’s Party to the people. The adviser said that the project would be a gift to the people of Karachi and the people should cooperate with the government in its positive steps. staff report

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2011\01\04\story_4-1-2011_pg12_2

Sindh govt serious for revival of KCR project

KARACHI: Sindh government is serious for the revival of Karachi Circular Railway (KCR) project with a Japanese company to finance more than 93 percent cost of the project on easy instalments. The KCR project costs $1.558 billion. Adviser to the Sindh Chief Minister on Information Sharmila Farooqi said this while talking to various delegations here on Monday. She said that the route of the project is more than 43 kilometres and 689,000 passengers are estimated to travel daily and the circular train would pass through 24 stations. The present democratic government is fully aware of Karachi’s traffic problems and the revival of KCR project was the need of the hour and it would help reduce the problems of traffic, she added. She said that the project would be completed till 2014 and all necessary measures had been taken in this regard and the project would benefit millions people in Karachi. She hoped that the revival of the project would also reduce pollution in the city and completion of the project would mean the completion of another promise, committed by the Pakistan People’s Party to the people. The adviser said that the project would be a gift to the people of Karachi and the people should cooperate with the government in its positive steps. staff report

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2011\01\04\story_4-1-2011_pg12_2

BS!

Sindh govt serious for revival of KCR project

KARACHI: Sindh government is serious for the revival of Karachi Circular Railway (KCR) project with a Japanese company to finance more than 93 percent cost of the project on easy instalments. The KCR project costs $1.558 billion. Adviser to the Sindh Chief Minister on Information Sharmila Farooqi said this while talking to various delegations here on Monday. She said that the route of the project is more than 43 kilometres and 689,000 passengers are estimated to travel daily and the circular train would pass through 24 stations. The present democratic government is fully aware of Karachi’s traffic problems and the revival of KCR project was the need of the hour and it would help reduce the problems of traffic, she added. She said that the project would be completed till 2014 and all necessary measures had been taken in this regard and the project would benefit millions people in Karachi. She hoped that the revival of the project would also reduce pollution in the city and completion of the project would mean the completion of another promise, committed by the Pakistan People’s Party to the people. The adviser said that the project would be a gift to the people of Karachi and the people should cooperate with the government in its positive steps. staff report

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2011\01\04\story_4-1-2011_pg12_2
Price sounds too steep. A new underground line in a developed country costs around $5-6 billion. $1.5 is a bit too high.

Finally they are taking something serious:P

^^Not really....

This is happening from the last 3 years....

^^Not really....

This is happening from the last 3 years....


They will remain serious always, as they are serious for other development.
However. If some one like ex. president Gen Musharaf assumes power in the country, then there is chance that this KCR project will see a realization.
Take the example of the LEW, it has not progressed a single inch since the depart of the last gov. The is unfortunate for the province of sindh and karachi that no serious rulers have been in the power here.

while Shabaz sharif inaugurating/launching several development projects for Lahore and other cities of the punjab. I do not see CM of sindh bother about any development in karachi. Karachi has been a victom of terrerrosim but No rescue 1122 service has been launched here. No one even ever discuseed about it.

We should pray to God for the good of the country as well as sindh.

I dont know why they are not starting work on it, when loan of $1.5bc is ready for this project, i think feudal sindhi's dont want to see developed karachi, do u guys remember Bank of Asia was also giving $800mn to CDGK, but Mustafa Kamal said that people from sindh govt talked with Bask of Asia, and asked them to scrap the plan. So this is not for the first time, and i m hopeless !

Problem with karachi is that all high provincial govt officers are from rural sindh, and they are purely anti-karachi, they dont want too see development in karachi! And federal govt never take care of karachi, only option left is local population of karachi, but sindh govt has taken back CDGK from the local people of karachi, so no hope until Musharraf come's back!

Some Old Articles:

DAWN.COM | Metropolitan | Nazim repeats lament about lack of funds (http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/news/pakistan/metropolitan/13+nazim+repeats+lament+about+lack+of+funds--za-02)


Wednesday, 20 May, 2009 | 02:10 AM PST |


KARACHI: Karachi Nazim Syed Mustafa Kamal has said that despite a shortage of funds and other obstacles, his government will continue to commission projects of public welfare.

Speaking at a press conference held in connection with the World Hepatitis Day on Tuesday, Kamal said his government attached great importance to the provision of safe drinking water to the citizens in all parts of Karachi as it curbed the spread of waterborne diseases.

He said the City District Government Karachi had also persuaded the Asian Development Bank to finance a set of mega-development projects, including the installation of two water-filter plants of 100 million gallons per day capacity, in the city.

However, the city could not get a loan of $800 million for its several development projects, for which he held the higher government authorities responsible. He added that it was the lackadaisical attitude of the authorities towards Karachi that it could not get any funding from the ADB, which funded projects of a similar nature in other districts of the province:taz:

‘We will fight on for funds and will not allow any of the CDGK-conceived development projects to go unnoticed and unimplemented,’ the nazim said.

In reply to another question, Kamal said almost half of the drinking water supplied to consumers in the city ran untreated into the KWSB system due to lack of infrastructure, a situation that needed to be rectified on a priority basis.

He claimed the CDGK spent Rs30 billion during the last four years on the improvement of the KWSB infrastructure, which helped control water pollution and mixing of sewage with potable water by 95 per cent, whereas the number of tankers carrying water to various residential areas had also decreased from 3,500 tankers to fewer than 500 tankers.

He said the government also wanted to ensure improvement in the environment and public-health services, including the preparation and marketing of foods and drinks, but sometimes it had to sit halfway due to the available inadequate legal tools and unnecessary pressures from different quarters, including political ones.

‘However, it should be known to all that though there might be some delay or compromise in approach in view of the existing overall situation in the country, and for the sake of stability in Karachi, the CDGK cannot be stopped from taking actions needed for the betterment of the people’s lives,’ the nazim said.


‘Sindh govt abandons US$800m development project’ (http://www.thenews.com.pk/print1.asp?id=178461)

http://www.thenews.com.pk/images/thenews.gif

Wednesday, May 20, 2009
By By our correspondent

Karachi

The provincial government has abandoned the US$800 million Karachi Mega City Project, which was being funded by Asian Development Bank (ADB), City Nazim Mustafa Kamal said on Tuesday.

He was addressing a press conference on World Hepatitis Day. Kamal said that the City District Government Karachi (CDGK) was planning to set up two filter plants under this project. He said during his visit to Manila he convinced the ADB that it should also approve US$500 million for interior Sindh. Funding to districts of interior Sindh had been released, Kamal said, adding however, that the provincial government had abandoned the project.

The city Nazim said that the affairs of the country were being run properly due to the stability in Karachi. Despite this, the residents of Karachi were being dealt with unfairly. He said that the city government banned plastic bags but a stay order was issued by the High Court in this regard. “I try to take a step ahead and I am forced to go three steps back,” Kamal said bitterly.

The Nazim said that the CDGK had started public awareness campaign against Hepatitis with an initiative to work on the frontline against the deadly disease. He said that presently, two city government hospitals, including the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital and the New Karachi General Hospital, were providing medical treatment to patients suffering with Hepatitis while necessary measures were being taken to provide this facility at other hospitals of the city as well. He said so far more than 27,000 citizens had been provided with free vaccination of Hepatitis by the CDGK.

Kamal further said that prisoners had already been vaccinated and free vaccination of sanitary workers of 18 towns and those of the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB) will be completed in the next two months. The city Nazim said that it was decided on Tuesday that a large-scale campaign will be started for the vaccination and medical treatment of hepatitis. “The unavailability of resources would not halt any of our projects,” he added.

Dr Waseem Jaffri, a senior doctor and volunteer of the ‘I Own Karachi’ programme, said that the CDGK had taken valuable measures to resolve the problem of sewerage water being mixed in water supply lines. ‘I Own Karachi’ had actually become a CDGK department due to the interest shown by the citizens, Kamal said.

Loan deal for Karachi circular railway this month

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) will sign a multi-million dollar deal for reviving Karachi Circular Railway (KCR) during the visit of President Asif Ali Zardari to Japan in the last week of this month, sources said.

The government of Japan will provide a soft loan of $1.457 billionó93 percent of total equityówhile the remaining amount will be raised by Karachi Urban Transport Corporation (KUTC).

The project would be executed in three years, said an official of Pakistan Railways familiar with the development.

The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council in its meeting on Sep 03, 2009, approved the revival of this project with foreign assistance.

The slow pace of work on the project had increased the estimated cost of the project from $872.316 million to $1.58 billion in a few years, said another official of Pakistan Railways.

JICA has already undertaken supplementary studies on the project, including demand traffic forecast and environment impact assessment.

The loan will be repayable in 40 years, including a 10-year grace period. The length of the track will be 49.1 kilometres.

Pakistan would ensure import of 70 percent material for the project, sources said.

The project will include 21 underpasses and overhead bridges. The official said that around 700,000 passengers of 23 different stations of the city would benefit from the project every day.

The KCR went off the tracks in 1997 due to the losses incurred by Pakistan Railways.

In the absence of this railway project, citizens have to travel either through congested buses or their own means of transport, which increase vehicular traffic on roads, frequently causing gridlocks.

http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=30694&Cat=3&dt=2/12/2011

good new

yeah is good news i hope its true...

The recent strike of private public transport operators in the city has once again underscored the importance of having an alternate and dependable public transport system for Karachi, like the revival of surface-based rail, Karachi Circular Railway (KCR) on emergency basis. The vital KCR revival project has been in the limbo for a decade due to a number of reasons. Among them is the lack of political will of successive governments. The arm-twisting tactics of a powerful lobby of private public transport in Karachi, which enjoys a ruthless monopoly over the sector, has further aggravated the situation. Finally, stringent conditions of international lending bodies had not helped either. However, frequent strikes of private public transporters are compelling the government as well as major political parties to work on the option of a swift revival of the KCR. It is said that the KCR’s revival would include the transformation of the old KCR into a mass transit system. The total length of the railway line is expected to be 50 kilometres and will cost about $1.58 billion. Opened in 1964, the route of the old KCR started from Drigh Road and ended in Karachi. The KCR ceased operations in 1999 after it suffered huge losses. In 2005, however, revival plans for the railway were initiated to fulfil the growing transportation needs of Karachi.

Karachi Circular Railway plan hits snags

KARACHI: The $1.5 billion project of the Karachi Circular Railway is once again facing a delay due to a lack of interest shown by the Sindh government. The Sindh Revenue Department has not yet approved the transfer of land due to which the work could not be started on the project, sources said.

Transfer of land by the Pakistan Railways to the Karachi Urban Transport Corporation (KUTC) though the Revenue Department has not yet been made official due to which there is no progress on the project. The matter has been under correspondence with the Revenue authorities for the last two years.

The issue was raised in the last meeting of the KUTC Board of Directors held in November 2010 in which the Sindh chief secretary issued orders for immediate sending of the summary to the chief minister for approval of the land transfer.

A high-powered delegation of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) is visiting Pakistan next week and will review the steps taken for the project. According to sources, it is feared that due to negligence on the Circular Railway project, the JICA delegation will likely provide a negative report leading to denial of a Japanese loan.

It may be recalled a $600 million loan of the ADB for improvements in the transport sector of Karachi has already been denied due to the lethargic bureaucratic attitude. The JICA will provide 93.50 percent funding for the $1.5 billion project with only 0.2 percent mark-up.

The matter of resettlement is also lying pending. The KUTC has completed all its preparations, which also includes a study for resettlement. However, illegal transgressions on railway lands have not yet been removed due to the non-cooperation of local administration.

http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=4506&Cat=13&dt=3/10/2011
:bash::bash::bash::bash::bash::bash::bash:

I do not think there is much hope for this project under the present government. When Japan is financing the project, there should be no problems at all. This shows that the present government is not serious about any real progress in karachi which is very sad and unfortunate.

I guess Japan is not giving enough kickbacks to politicians.

i DONT KNOW this project seems really hopless, i dont understand that why cant this government realize the growing n desperate need for Karachi n its people to get a breather from all this traffic load, i know these sorta projects cost alota capital ( in this case not) but still thell pay off in no time as the benefits are endless..

why is that when the people of every major city in pakistan are increasing their standard ofliving even in these tough times how hard is it for the government to do things for the interest n prosperity of their nation..

That is why Karachi needs to be self governed. More autonomy for Karachi!

There is no control in Karachi in terms of security and no one knows who controls Karachi? MQM, PPP or ANP. The govt of Sindh needs to spend and make better living standards for the people of Karachi. Govt of Sindh is focusing on only one thing, to spark provisional division and doing things like Topi day and other things that are not related to the people.

There is no control in Karachi in terms of security and no one knows who controls Karachi? MQM, PPP or ANP. The govt of Sindh needs to spend and make better living standards for the people of Karachi. Govt of Sindh is focusing on only one thing, to spark provisional division and doing things like Topi day and other things that are not related to the people.

This should be straight forward. PPP has interior ministry, police etc. They control it. If things are bad, they control it badly. 3-4 years back MQM had interior ministry, police etc. They used to control it. If things were bad, they controlled it badly. If in future, ANP gets interior ministry (less likely), if things go bad, their control would be bad.

Minister for Railways Haji Ghulam Ahmed Bilour Friday directed Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the concerned ministry officials to expedite work on Karachi Circular Railway project.

In a meeting with a six-member JICA delegation of technical experts headed by Ken Kato, the railways minister said delay in project has raised serious concerns among the public facing acute transport problems.

The Japanese delegation expressed satisfaction over performance of the Karachi Urban Transport Corporation that has completed maximum of the task assigned to it regarding the circular railway project.

The delegation informed the minister that a team of technical experts would reach Pakistan in June this year to survey design of the project that would also comprise its geo-technical investigation.

Ken Kato apprised the minister that following the appraisal mission project; Japan would hold detailed discussion on the provision of loan facility and ascertain the time period for the purpose.

The railways minister assured Japanese delegation of all possible cooperation in execution of the multi-billion project.

The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has offered a soft loan along with technical cooperation for the Karachi Circular Railway (KCR).

JICA team leader Minoru Shibuya stated this while presenting Karachi Transport Improvement Project report to the Technical Committee, Karachi Mass Transit Cell (KMTC) at Civic Centre, here on Saturday. JICA had started a survey with regard to Karachi Transport Improvement Project in April 2010.

The JICA team leader said that underground mass rapid transit system would take 10 years to be completed while the project’s cost would also be increased in this span.

Shibuya said: “Presently the population of Karachi is 18.9 million, which is likely to surge to 31.6 million by the year 2035. This will be close to the population of Tokyo, and the constant increase in population will increase problems in commuting.”

He laid emphasis on the removal of encroachments on roadsides to improve the flow of traffic in the city.

Director General KMTC Rasheed Mughal told the meeting that the World Bank, with the cooperation of Japan, Government of Pakistan and Sindh government, initiated Urban Transport Master Plan 2030.

Representatives
of Defence Housing Authority, Pakistan Railways, Port Qasim Authority, Traffic police, Finance Department Sindh, Transport Department Sindh and other concerned officials were also present on the occasion.

10 years :nuts:

10 years :nuts:

Better 10 years than never

KARACHI, Aug 6: A resettlement plan for the people to be affected by the revival of the Karachi Circular Railway project has been approved by donors and its implementation will begin in the next few months, said the chief of the Karachi Urban Transport Corporation (KUTC) on Saturday.

The KUTC chief, Ijaz Khilji, said that the Pakistan Railways had agreed to provide approximately 300 acres near Jumma goth (near Cattle Colony and Shah Latif Town) where over 4,650 families currently residing on the KCR route would be relocated.

Each family would be given an 80-square-yard plot and Rs50,000.

He said that the Sindh government had also asked the federal government for the waiver of 8.2 per cent charges on principal and interest amount and hopefully it would formally be approved soon.

Sources said that the federal government charged 15 per cent — 6.8 per cent exchange risk coverage and 8.2 per cent service charges and interest — on foreign loans obtained by the provinces or other stakeholders.

Mr Khilji said that the total cost of the KCR project was roughly over $1.6 billion — equivalent to around Rs128 billion.

The Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) is providing over 93.5 per cent ($1.5 billion) while the remaining 6.5 per cent (roughly $101 million) is to be provided by the Sindh and the city governments.

The foreign component of the long-term soft loan, provided at a mark up of 0.2 per cent, is to be returned in 40 years, including initial 10 years as grace period.

He said that in the next few months different JICA teams were scheduled to visit the country to prepare detailed designs, plans of the route and sign agreements just before the start of the Japanese financial year that begins in March so that the funds could be released and the implementation of the project started in the second quarter of 2012. After the work on the project started it would be completed in three years.

He said that under the project 44-kilometre-long dedicated dual track would be laid and it would have 24 stations.

He said that while the system was designed for 100 kilometres per hour speed, electric trains would be operating at an approximate speed of roughly 40 kilometres per hour thus completing the entire circular railway loop in around an hour.

He said that out of its route over 22 kilometres would be elevated and four kilometres would be in tunnels, while the remaining around 16 kilometres would be on road surface.

He said that the railway tracks on the entire route would be fenced and all the level crossings, numbering more than 20, would be removed as the tracks would be passing either at an elevation or tunnels, etc.

He said that the system would require 120 megawatts.

The KUTC chief said that each train would have six cars and could transport roughly 1,400 passengers.

Time gap between two trains would be six minutes and would be operating between 6am and midnight.

Roughly 700,000 passengers would be traveling daily through this system, though it could handle around two million commuters. Fare would be compatible with the road transport fares and at current rates it would begin from approximately Rs15 and Rs0.50 per additional kilometre with the maximum fare for the entire loop would be around Rs25.

He said that the KUTC was incorporated in May 2008 as a public limited company in the Securities and Exchange Commission (not listed) with the railways having 60 per cent, the Sindh government 25 per cent and the city government 15 per cent shares for the implementation of the project.

The railways constructed the Karachi Circular railways and it started its operations in 1964 and it reached its peak performance in 1984 when over 104 trains — 24 on the KCR loop and 80 on the main line — were operated carrying over six million passengers annually.

Owing to a lack of investment in infrastructure, rolling stock, etc, operational efficiency of the KCR was marginalised causing increased running time, lesser number of trains which resulted in reduction of passengers and eventually it was closed down for traffic in 1999.

With the city`s population increasing rapidly and in the absence of a public mass transit system, the problems of commuters have increased and the government finally realised hardships faced by the people and decided in 2004 to revive the KCR.

More than half a decade later the project is finally approaching the implementation stage, as the work is to start in the second quarter of the next year.

Source: Dawn

lets hope all goes by the plan..

Tokyo may extend 90pc funding of $1.5bn
TOKYO: The Japanese government may extend 90 percent funding of $1.5 billion Karachi Circular Railway project as a part of the Mass Rapid Transit System, an official said on Tuesday.

“The two governments are in the process of negotiations with each other over the project and Japan may extend the funding for the project,” an official of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan told The News on the condition of anonymity.

“The project is quite good as it will connect several industrial and commercial districts within the city. This is why the authorities in Japan are seriously considering this project for funding.”

Japan may also provide funding to make National Power Control Cell (NPCC) a modernised entity, he said.

Besides, it may help install latest equipment and also ensure the use of fibre optics that will exactly tell about the load of the electricity in any part of the country, he said, adding that a telecom system will be installed at NPCC, which will be based on computers and modern equipment. “This will help reduce the transmission losses across the country.”

Tokyo had already provided funding of 67 billion yen for 1,209 kilometre-long Indus Highway from Peshawar to Karachi.

“Likewise, it has also provided a loan of 12.6 billion yen for constructing 1.9 kilometres-long Kohat Tunnel.”

In addition, Japan has also provided funding and grant for the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa emergency rural roads rehabilitation project, technical cooperation for trade policy adviser, the project for the improvement of water supply in Abbotabad, the project for strengthening of DAE Mechanical and Architecture Departments in GCT Railway Road, project for the development of Centre of Excellence for Technical Education, national transmission lines and grid stations strengthening project and strategic strengthening of flood warning and management capacity of Pakistan.

Moreover, Japan has also helped in executing the landmark project of repair of Taunsa Barrage and building of 1,450MW Ghazi Barotha hydropower project.

http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=74319&Cat=3

^^
I want to say that Karachi railway should Run by China or Japan because Put your glance over their cities, You will found a Complete extraordinary System of Railways.

KCR project cost increases to Rs 135 billion

* Karachi Mass Transit plan has 87km of network

* It will cover six priority corridors of high travel demand

The delay in execution of Karachi Circular Rail project, a key part of Karachi Mass Transit, has escalated the project cost from Rs 128 billion to Rs 135 billion, a senior Planning Commission official informed Daily Times on Wednesday.

At the time of the estimated cost of the project, Pak-Rupee and US Dollar parity was Rs 80 per dollar and it has increased to Rs 86 a dollar resulting in increase in project cost from Rs 128 billion to Rs 135 billion, explained the official.

According to a brief of the project, available to this scribe, Karachi Mass Transit study was conducted with the technical assistance and financial assistance of World Bank in 1990. It had recommended 87 kilometres transit network comprising six priority corridors of high travel demand. These six priority corridors were approved and notified by the government in 1995. First priority corridor was from Sohrab Goth to Tower having distance of 15.2 kilometres (km), second Orangi Town to Cantonment Station having length of 12 km, third, North Karachi, Nazimabad and branches to Banaras Chowk, Liaquatabad, Manghopir Road Bridge, near site office partly along KCR 15.4 km, fourth, Karachi Cantonment to Landhi 20.5 km, fifth, Nagan Chorangi to Korangi via Rashid Minhas Road and over Shah Faisal Colony across narrow width of Malir River 14.5 km and sixth, Baldia Township to Tower along RCD Highway and KCR right of way.

The sources said that progress on the project has gone through various stages of technical and financial options but so far not able to take-off mainly due to non-fulfilment of commitments from Build Operate and Transfer (BOT) bidders funding with City District Government Karachi.

Karachi Circular Rail project which is a component of Karachi Mass Transit Project has been approved by the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) on September 3, 2009 at an estimated cost of $1.558 billion (93.5 percent of the cost of project loan). Token allocation of Rs 10 million exists for this project in the federal Public Sector Development Programme 2011-12.

The official further informed that City District Government Karachi is presently conducting a study for Karachi Transportation Improvement Project under Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Grant-in-Aid. The PC-II for the study estimated cost of Rs 370.8 million was approved by Central Development Working Party (CDWP) on March 18, 2010. The agreement of the study was signed in October 2009 and work was started soon after that. The first phase of study is expected to be completed by December 2011 and the second phase by June 2012. Further course of action on the proposed Mass Transit System would be taken accordingly for its implementation, added the official.

Revival of KCR: A real solution for city’s traffic problems

http://cache.pakistantoday.com.pk/2012/01/karachi-480x238.jpg

After massive road infrastructure development in Karachi during the nine years of Musharraf’s tenure, a relief was somehow provided to the city where provisions of transport facilities have always remained a major issue. Despite all public pressures and the struggle of the elected nominees of the metropolitan, recommendations of traffic experts, number of traffic development projects could not be materialised so far, and the revival of the Karachi Circular Railway is one of them.

With the passage of time, transport issues have once again cropped up in the city as all important areas of the city are facing the problems of traffic gridlocks, congestion, wastage of fuel, time and energy, parking, lack of public transport etc. The absence of parking areas and acute massive encroachment on main streets, service roads, and footpaths passing through all big and small commercial hubs, markets and bazaars in the city create massive hurdles in the flow of smooth traffic. Traffic gridlocks can be witnessed at the Shahrah-e-Faisal, the MA Jinnah Road, the University Road, the Shahrah-e- Pakistan, the Shers Shah Suri Road, the MT Khan Road and other major arteries during peak hours.

Commuters are compelled to travel in congested buses, mini-buses/coaches plying on the roads of the city that are short in number to fulfill the requirement of the rapidly increasing population of the port city.

According to the statistics provided by the secretary of the Karachi Transport Ittehad, Irshad Bukhari, Karachi needs 2,000 more buses to fill the gap of transport facilities.

However, according to the data prepared by the Transports and Communication Department of the city government, the number of vehicles plying on the roads of the city is 3.3 million.

Out of them, 2.4 million vehicles are owned by citizens and transport companies, including 1,297,000 motorcycles, 1,099,000 cars, 199,000 vans, 154,000 rickshaws, 74,000 taxis, 16,161 mini-buses, 6,496 buses, 12,600 trucks and 16,000 mini-trucks. Out of the 3.3 million vehicles, 0.9 million are inter-city buses.

Only 3,000 buses, 8,000 mini-buses and 7,000 coaches are plying on the roads of the city with a shortage of 2,000 buses.

It means that the citizens are facing a 50 percent shortage of public transport vehicles. Consequently, commuters have to travel in congested buses or sit on top of mini-buses/coaches. Approximately, five to six million commuters daily use these vehicles.

These vehicles are registered with the city and provincial governments, but the dangerous water tankers that are freely plying on roads are not registered with any traffic department.

With Karachi’s population estimated to exceed the figure of 30 million by the year 2030 by the dint of increasing flow of rural population to the urban areas, the issue of transport is set to become a big problem in the coming days.

In addition to the shortage of public transport vehicles, the commuters are also facing other problems including robberies in buses, strikes, terrorism, increasing fuel prices, exorbitant fares etc.

According to some owners of the public transport vehicles, more than 3,000 buses, mini-buses and coaches had been set ablaze by miscreants in the city so far during violence and political parties’ strikes, and the government and the law enforcement agencies have miserably failed to provide protection to transporters.

Therefore, a large number of transporters have shifted their businesses from Karachi to other parts of the country.

The deteriorating situation of public transport in Karachi is quite in contrast with the situation in Lahore, where the provincial government has launched many important projects for the provision of better facilities to the masses.
Recently, the Punjab government started a new air-conditioned bus service in Lahore. But the government of Sindh, despite its tall claims about launching environmental friendly transport vehicles for the masses of Karachi or reviving the circular railway, has practically done nothing so far.

It has repeatedly been told that after its revival, the KCR would facilitate 70,000 passengers a day. Therefore, this project is a real solution to Karachi’s old traffic problems.

One of the important modifications has been added to the existing plan of reviving the KCR is the elevation of its tracks, measuring about 20 to 22 kilometres, to avoid trespassing. The KCR was suspended in 1997 due to heavy losses incurred by the Pakistan Railways. Now the KUTC has been entrusted with resurrecting the KCR along the 55-kilometre track as a viable travel mode within the city, where travel time on bus has shot up nearly 45 percent in a year.

The need of the hour is to revive the KCR project on a war-footing basis and this must not be hampered by any political intent to deprive the citizens of modern transport facilities, especially when this city is facing a plausible surge in its population.

Almost as many cars as bikes (and that too 1 car/15 people) and 1 million intercity buses? The numbers look wayyyyyy off.

^^100% agree!!!