ISLAMABAD: A Chinese company NORINCO International has offered its services to the Capital Development Authority (CDA) to build a state of the art mass transit system in the federal capital and also recommended a modern ‘Light Rail Transit’ (Tram) project for the city. The company is already engaged in the construction of ‘Orange Line Metro Train project’ in Lahore.
NORINCO International is a public listed company subordinate to China North Industries Corporation and its business scope covers projects in sectors of railway and urban rail transit systems besides several other domains such as highways and expressways.
A group of representatives from this company visited the head office of the civic body on Friday and delivered a presentation. The company offered its services for the establishment of a state of the art transport project in Islamabad. The Member Planning CDA, Asad Mehboob Kiani, represented the civic body along with other officers of the Authority including the director transport engineering.
A brief comparison among Metro Train, Light Rail Transit (Tram) and Traditional Light Rail Transit was presented before the city managers.
The company representatives highlighted different merits and demerits of aforementioned three kinds of transport systems, but recommended the Light Rail Transit for Islamabad.
The LRT or fast tram is urban public transport using rolling stock similar to a tramway, but operating at a higher capacity, and often on an exclusive right-of-way.
The proposed LRT for Islamabad by NORINCO will have the capacity to cater to around 8000 to 20000 passengers per hour while its each unit will have the capacity to occupy 350-700 passengers at a time.
The maximum speed of the proposed LRT is 80 kilometres per hour, but it operates on the speed of 20-35 kilometres per hour while the project can be implementable on both dedicated or partially dedicated right of the way.
“The tentative cost of this project would be around one billion rupees per kilometre, which is not so much expensive”, an insider of the meeting commented on the condition of anonymity.
The presentation included that the planned mass transit system between Islamabad and Rawalpindi is primarily divided on four tracks; Orange Line (Bara Kahu to New Islamabad Airport via Kashmir Highway), Red Line (Rawalpindi Saddar to Pak Secretariat), Blue Line (Kutcheri chowk, Rawalpindi to Zero Point Interchange, Islamabad via Islamabad Expressway), Green Line (Kutcheri chowk, Rawalpindi to 9thAvenue, Islamabad via the I.J.P Road)
The Chinese company was informed by the officials of the CDA that the Red Line had already been constructed as the Metro Bus Project while the project for the establishment of another Metro Bus from Peshawar Morh Interchange to G-13 has also been announced by the prime minister just a few days before, which is a part of the Orange Line.
However, the Green Line and Blue Line routes still need a final decision and the LRT (Tram) project can be considered for these routes. The Member Planning CDA, Asad Mehboob Kiani, while talking to Daily Times said: “Today’s meeting was just an introductory session and nothing has been finalised yet to share.”
He said: “The government is quite concerned to convert Islamabad as the most beautiful city of the world.”
It is pertinent to mention here that those who are familiar with the dynamics and the needs of routine commuters in the twin cities are astonished over the announcement to build another metro bus project from Peshawar Morr to New Islamabad International Airport as most of the burden of commuters is in on green and blue lines instead of the orange line.