(Pakistan News & Features Services)
The Ministry of Railways would restore the Karachi Circular Railways (KCR) at a cost of Rs 1.8 billion to carry around 16,000 commuters on 32 trains daily.
The distance from the starting point to the last destination would be covered in just half an hour, an official in the Ministry of Railways informed in Islamabad on October 6.
The restoration of KCR was being carried out at the orders of the Supreme Court with the necessary role and cooperation of the Sindh government.
The official disclosed that the 44-kilometer KCR track will include 30 km loop and 14 km mainline. The KCR will be having a total of 20 stations, out of which 15 will be on the loop and five on the mainline, while there would be 24 level crossings on the entire network.
The KCR project was planned to be restored in three phases. In the first phase, 14 kilometers from Karachi City to Orangi Station would be revived, in the second phase seven kilometers from Orangi Station to Gilani Station will be restored while in the third and final phase nine kilometers from Gilani Station to Drigh Colony track would be completely restored.
About the restoration of first phase, the official said that the rehabilitation work of the track from Karachi City to Orangi Station was in full swing, adding that 12-kilometer track from Karachi City to Manghopir had already been completely restored.
An amount of Rs152.5 million for repair of nine stations, platforms and 15 level crossings has been spent to restore in the first phase. An amount in the region of Rs 50 million for electrical signals and telecommunication have been released in July of the current financial year.
At present 10 locomotives and 40 coaches for the KCR project had been handed over to Carriage Factory Islamabad for repair and renovation. Upon completion of the project it would be upgraded to a modern urban mass transit system under public-private partnership.
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