Report on Current Transport Scenario of Pakistan

The Current Transport Scenario of Pakistan

INTRODUCTION

1. Importance of transport for national development is too well known to be reiterated. Like all other national economies transport sector in Pakistan is also playing a significant role. My brief presentation will cover the following aspects:(a) Road Transport (b) Rail Transport (c) Sea Transport (d) Air Transport (e) Multimodal Transport (f) Role of CILT Pakistan in improvement of transport sector (g) Conclusion ROAD TRANSPORT

2. Pakistan has following types of roads:

(a) Highways: (i) National Highway from Karachi to Torkham at Afghan Border (ii) RCD Highway from Karachi to Iranian Border along the coast. (b) Roads: (i) Urban area roads (ii) Inter Provincial Roads under the National Highway Authority (iii) District Roads under the respective districts (iv) Rural Roads including farm to market roads (v) Desert Roads in Cholistan and Thal

3. Urban Transport:

(a) The major urban centres of Pakistan are:(i) Karachi with a population of about 18 millions (7th largest city in the world)
(ii) Lahore – 8 million (iii) Faisalabad – 4 million (iv) Hyderabad – 3 million (v) Rawalpindi / Islamabad – 1 million (b) Of the above Karachi and Lahore need a mass transit system (c) At present all urban transport is based on buses, mini buses and taxis (d) Although Karachi and Lahore must have a rail based mass transit system, inspite of discussions and debates of the last 30 years, no mass transit system has materialized so far. (e) Karachi has a circular railway established in 1950s’ when Karachi’s population was about 4 millions. Only about 5% of urban commuters use the circular railway as it does not cover the main population centres of Karachi. (f) World Bank carried out two workshops on the subjects but nothing has materialized on the ground.

4. Intercity Transport. It is based entirely on buses except for the few cities which are located on the main railway line from Karachi to Landi Kotal and Karachi to Chaman on Afghan Border. .

5. Control of Road Transport:

(a) Ownership and control of road transport has undergone many changes during the last 50 years (b) Initially all public transport was in the private sector (c) Subsequently it was transferred to public sector corporations in the provinces. (d) In the sixties, public sector corporations were disbanded and all bus transport came under the ownership and control of private operators. (e) Due to public agitation and unsatisfactory performance of private operators, provincial transport authorities started exercising greater control over the private operators.

6. RAIL TRANSPORT

Pakistan Railways forms the life line of the country by catering to its needs for large scale movement of freight as well as passenger traffic. It not only contributes Pakistan economic growth but also promotes national integration.

7. Pakistan Railways, which now comprises 8,774,87 route-kilometers, 781 stations and 42 train halts, came into existence on 13th May, 1861 when Karachi and Kotri, (169 kilometres apart) were linked by rail. In February, 1961, the Railway was renamed as Pakistan Western Railway and in May,1974 as Pakistan Railways.

8. At the time of independence the Railway system inherited by Pakistan was known as NWR (North Western Railway) in West Pakistan and NER (North Eastern Railways) in East Pakistan. In February, 1961 NWR and NER were abolished and the railway system both in East and West were renamed as Pakistan Eastern and Pakistan Western Railways.

9. In May, 1974, Pakistan Western Railway was renamed as Pakistan Railways.

10. Pakistan Railways is a multi-gauge system and operates on three gauges, i.e. broad-gauge, metre-gauge and narrow-gauge. The gauge-wise route length and track length of Pakistan Railways on 30th June,1996 was as under:ROUTE & TRACK LENGTH
Route kilometers Track Kilometres

Broad-gauge 7,718.37 11,343.52 Metre-gauge 445.40 555.10 Narrow-gauge 611.10 726.11
Total 8,774.87 12,624.73

11. The Section of the Railways from Hyderabad to Mirpurkhas and beyond upto the Indian Border (200 kilometres named as zero point) was converted into a broad gauge. In the Indian side the last station was Mana Bhao. When India and Pakistan decided to establish a direct train link, the Indians also extended their railway line from Mana Bhao upto the zero point. The direct train service was started in February, 2006. The special train from Karachi to Zero Point is operating once a week.

This has enabled Pakistani nationals to travel to other destination in India by rail. Similarly the Indian nationals wanting to visit Pakistan also travel by rail. 12. Organization. The Ministry of Railways has a Railway Board which comprises of the Chairman and four Members. The Chairman of the Board is ex-officio Secretary to the Government of Pakistan. The four Members of the Board namely Member Traffic, Member Mechanical Engineering, Member Civil Engineering and Member Finance are ex-officio Additional Secretaries to the Government of Pakistan. The Railway Board functions as a policy, planning and review Board and has six functional units as under:

(a) Railway Operations Unit (b) Production Unit-I (Carriage Factory Islamabad, Automatic Vehicle Launching Bridge Section and Steel Shop) (c) Production Unit-II (Locomotive Factory at Rawalpindi and Risalpur Locomotive Rehabilitation Project) (d) Production Unit-III (Concrete Sleeper Factories and Flash Butt Welding Plant, Sukkur) (e) RAILCOP (Railway Construction Company Pakistan Limited) (f) PRACS (Pakistan Railway Advisory and Consultancy Services Limited. 13. The Railway Operation Unit: The Railway Operation Unit is exclusively responsible for the working of the rail transport.

This is headed by the General Manager, who is the Chief Executive. He is assisted by four Additional General Managers, who look after Business, Engineering, Industrial Relations and Material Management and Principal Officers of various departments.

14. The Railway Operations Unit is managed through Divisional system under which the Railway has been divided into seven Operating Divisions and one Workshops Division, each headed by a Divisional Superintendent. He is assisted by the divisional officers of various departments, such as Personnel, Transportation, Commercial, mechanical, Way & Works, Signalling and Telecommunications and Electrical. Medical and Railway Police operate under the General Manager.

15. Production Units. Pakistan Railways has always laid great emphasis on acquiring self sufficiency in railway equipment. Accordingly, various production units have been separated to form independent units to make them self sufficient within their respective frame works. Currently Pakistan Railways has three main production units as under:(a) Carriage Factory, Islamabad. (b) Locomotive Factory, Rislapur: (i) To acquire self-sufficiency in the production of diesel electric locomotives, Pakistan Railways has set up a Locomotive Factory near Risalpur. (ii) The Factory is provided with most modern plant and equipment to ensure quality production. So far it has manufactured 5 D.E locomotives of 2000 HP. There is a plan to start manufacture of 1000 HP Locomotives shortly. (c) Concrete Sleeper Factories: Pakistan Railways inherited the permanent way with high percentage of overage sleepers requiring large scale sleepers’ renewals. Hence Pakistan Railways decided to switch over to concrete sleepers. Initially manufacture of R.C.C. Twin Block sleepers was started at Bridge Workshop Jhelum.

The first prestressed Concrete Sleeper factory of the Indo Pak Sub continent was established at Sukkur in 1967 with the capacity of 70,000 sleepers per annum in single shift. The major break through in production of concrete sleepers within the country was achieved with the installation of four other sleeper factories at Khanewal, Kotri, Shahinabad and Kohat Cantt.

16. Pakistan Railway Advisory & Consultancy Services (PRACS):

(a) Established in 1976 with Head Office in Lahore, the Company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Pakistan Railways and has a panel of consultants with extensive experience in important disciplines like operations, research, marketing, personnel management, all engineering fields & railway finance. (b) Main objectives of the company are to carry out consultancy, advisory, designing, surveying, architecture, building and manufacturing of rolling stock, plant & machinery for maintenance, construction, development and improvement of railway track and bridges. (c) Operating 13 Reservation & Information Offices with improved service to the passengers at suitable locations at Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi / Islamabad. (d) Managing “Khyber Steam Safari” train between Peshawar and Landi Kotal stations on historic Khyber Pass to promote tourism through Railways in line with the policies of the Government of Pakistan. Two old steam locomotives zig-zaging their way in hills is a rare delight for tourists. 17. Railway Constructions Pakistan Limited (RAILCOP):(a) Railway Constructions Pakistan Limited is a subsidiary of Ministry of Railways. (b) The Company is headed by a Managing Director and is governed by the Board of Directors, whose Members are the Members of Railway Board, Secretary Railway Board and General Manager Pakistan Railways with Chairman Railway Board as its Chairman.

(c) RAILCOP offers services in all engineering fields like railways, roads, bridges, public health engineering, telecommunication, power generation and transmission etc. RAILCOP besides undertaking a number of projects, completed a prestigious project of High Speed Railway Line between Riyadh and Dammam (Hofuf Section of 160 KM length). The company has constructed a number of bridges over railway tracks, canals and flyovers. The company also deals in manufacture and supply of railway materials. (d) RAILCOP is manned by professional railway employees. AIR TRANSPORT

18. PIA was established in 1950, They started operating in domestic routes and subsequently extended their operation to international destinations. PIA is currently operating to Toronto, New York, London, Manchester, Birmingham, Paris, Copenhagen, Oslo, Milan, Istanbul, Riyadh, Dammam, Bahrain, Doha, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Jeddah, Al-ain, Muscat, Kabul, Mumbai, Delhi, Katmandu, Dhaka, Beijing, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur on international routes. Domestic destinations are Peshawar, Islamabad, Lahore, Sialkot, Faisalabad, Multan, Quetta, Turbat and Gawadar.

19. About 10 years back the government decided to deregulate air transport industry and private airlines started operating. Currently Aero Asia and Shaheen Air are the main private airline serving various national and international destinations. Recently Air Blue has been established and is operating very efficiently. A new private airline (Pearl Air) is also being established.

20. Civil Aviation Authority, which is a government organization, is the regulating agency for all foreign and national airlines. They are the owners of all airports in the country. SEA TRANSPORT

21. There are three sea ports in Pakistan – Karachi Port Trust , Port Qasim Authority and Gawadar Port. 22. Karachi Port Trust: (a) Karachi Port has contributed tremendously in the economy of the country and has been instrumental in developing Karachi as an industrial centre and economic backbone of the country. (b) Karachi is a natural harbour, which has developed over more than 150 years after a process of construction, reclamation and dredging. Presently Karachi Port has an 11 km long approach channel and there are western and eastern (Chinna Creek) backwaters with mangrove clusters. (c) In 1947, Karachi Port had 29 berths with a 9 metre depth and handling 1.5 million tones of dry cargo. (d) Currently KPT has 30 dry and 3 liquid product handling berths with a depth of 12.5 metres. (e) The port is handling about 12 million tons of dry cargo and 14 million tons of liquid cargo.

23. Port Qasim Authority: (a) Karachi is the only port city of Pakistan which serves as principal gateway to the country. Almost all external trade is handled by its two major operational ports, Karachi Port and Port Qasim. Port Qasim Authority (PQA), which was founded by Government of Pakistan in 1972, has 12,220 acres of land. (b) Industrial and Commercial Units (i) 91 units are operational. (ii) 50 units are under construction. (iii) Land utilized by the units in operation is 1,600 Acres. (c) Port Qasim has been developed on the coastline of Arabian Sea. The port is accessible through sea and is well connected with the hinterland through road and railway networks. (d) A number of multinational companies have invested in some of the projects. A large network of industries such as fertilizer, polymers and chemicals, oil extraction and refineries, industrial gases, pharmaceuticals, automobiles and engineering goods have been established.

24. Gawadar Port:(a) Initially Gawadar was a Fish Harbour and mini port. Subsequently, the government of Pakistan decided to make it into the third sea port of Pakistan by developing it as a deep water port capable of accommodating 50,000 DWT class vessels. (b) Coastal Highway from Karachi has been developed which has reduced the travel time to about 8 hours. In addition work for extension of national motorway (M-8) from Ratadero in Sindh to Gawadar is in progress. (c) The port was completed in February,2007 and was inaugurated by the President of Pakistan in March,2007. (d) The management of the port has the been entrusted to Port of Singapore Authority which has the reputation of being the most efficient port in the world.

MULTIMODAL TRANSPORT

25. At present, Pakistan’s foreign trade is based on traditional trade and transport procedures and documents. This results in high cost of exports and imports. 26. To improve Pakistan’s foreign trade to international standards it is imperative to develop the country’s transport and trade facilitation process. As Pakistan is planning to establish a National Trade Corridor from Karachi to Peshawar adoption of multimodal transport system can be very useful.

27. Currently road and rail are extensively being used for carriage of goods from Karachi to Peshawar and from Karachi to Quetta. Movement of cargo by air to domestic destinations is very small. However, it is being used for destination in the Middle East and Far East. Therefore, introduction of multimodal transport system is under consideration. THE ROLE OF CILT PAKISTAN IN IMPROVEMENT OF
TRANSPORT SECTOR
28. CILT Pakistan has introduced and institutionalized education in transport. We started Post Graduate Diploma in Transport in 1984 and Masters in Transport Management in 1996 in conjunction with Karachi University. CILT Pakistan has also introduced short courses in Freight Forwarding, Certified Human Resource Manager Program and Service Quality Management in Transport. 29. We have conducted the following seminars:a. Role of Transport in National Development" - April,1978. b. "Transport Perspectives in National Development" - May,1982. c. "Transport for the Changing World with Special Reference to Pakistan" Nov,1985. d. "Inland Water Transport with Special Reference to Pakistan" March,1987. e. "Road Transport in Pakistan - Problems of the Sixth Plan and Prospects of the Seventh Plan" - March,1988. f. "Marine Fuel Oil Bunker Analysis" - Jun,1988. g. "Inter Modal Transport and Its Significance for Pakistan" - March,1989. h. Follow up Seminar on "Inland Water Transport" - February,1990. j. "Trade and Transport with Central Asian States" -April,1992. k. "Gawadar Port - Present Plans and Future Prospects" - December,1992. l. "Multi Modal Transport with Special Reference to the Role of Pakistan Railways" -April,1993 m. "Pakistan's Transport Scenario at the Threshold of the Twenty First Century" - March,1994. n. "Freight Forwarding Problems and Prospects in Pakistan and Role of Containers Freight Station" - January,1995 o. "Privatization of Transport in Pakistan - Progress and Prospects" March,1995. p. International Conference on "Transport and Environment" on 14-15 October,1996. q. International Conference on "Privatization of Rail Transport in Developing Countries" on 3-4 Nov,1997. r. Seminar on "Public Transport System in Sindh - Problems & Progress" on 28 November,98. s. Joint Seminar by CIT Pakistan and Royal Aeronautical Society Pakistan division on "Aviation in Pakistan - Present Status, Problems and Prospects" on 7th December, 1999. t. Another joint Seminar organized by CIT Pakistan and Royal Aeronautical Society Pakistan division on "Transport and Safety" was on 7th October, 2000.

u. Seminar on “Advance Cargo Information System” on 5th August, 2002 v. Conference on “Transport Education” on 19th Sept, 2002 w. Seminar on “Afghan Transit Trade & Role of Chartered Institute of Logistics & Transport” was organized by CILT Peshawar Section on 13th June, 2003 x. Seminar on “Karachi Rail Based Mass Transit System in Global Context” on 27th September, 2003 y. Seminar on “Revival of Pakistan Railways and Future Prospects of Rail Transportation to Central Asia” on 31st March, 2004 z. International Seminar on “Rail Based Urban Transport Systems for Principal Pakistan Cities” on 13 and 14 October, 2004 aa. Half day Seminar on “Ship Owning and Legislation” on 27th November, 2004 bb. International Seminar on “Prospects of Developing Regional Tourism and
Role of Different Modes of Transport” on 11 and 12 July, 2005

cc. International Conference on “Role of Transport and Logistics in National Disasters with Special Reference to the Earthquake of 8th October, 2005” on 14 and 15 March, 2006 dd. International Seminar on “Supply Chain Management and Role of Pakistan Railways” on 16th November, 2006

CONCLUSION

30. During the last 60 years the transport system of Pakistan has gradually improved. The country is well served by land based systems as well as air travel facilities. Rail based transit system for Karachi and Lahore, however, is a dire necessity which needs early introduction. 31. Take questions from the audience.

Special Authority to Initiate Mass Transit Project

Another news about LRMTS which again gives hopes about its implementation.....

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LAHORE - The Punjab government has decided to constitute a ‘special authority’ to initiate Lahore Rapid Mass Transit (LRMT) Rail project under the directions of Asian Development Bank. According to sources in Planning and Development Department, government has to form a special authority as ADB, extending loan for the execution of LRMT rail project, had set the condition that unless such body is formed, the Bank will not extend its financial facility to the govt.

Sources disclosed that fulfilling some other conditions laid down by ADB, Punjab government has also been planning to establish Project Management Unit, appoint consultants and make relevant legislations. The Punjab government has also created a new head of Special Infrastructure in the Annual Development Program (ADP) and included LRMT project in the head.Sources revealed that ADB had set the condition after Rs 1 billion mega scam in LRMT rail project surfaced in past. The four ex-employees of transport department along with former secretary transport Agha Nadeem were found involved in the scandal. Sources said that Punjab government had allocated Rs 1.952 billion for 97 kilo metres long LRMT project in the fiscal year 2009-10.

“The LRMT rail project targets for the fiscal year 2009-10 include; engagement of transaction advisor for preparatory work, engagement of the general consultants to oversee the project, and tendering for the design-built LRMTS execution contract during year 2009,” sources added. Currently, there are four ongoing schemes under LRMTS Project costing Rs 1.856 billion. They said “the government had already spent Rs 1 billion on feasibility study of the project to be completed in two phases and the estimated cost had grown from $2 billion in 2007 to $2.5 billion in 2009 for the first phase.”

The current project is definitely not the first attempt to build a rail-based mass transit for Lahore. The proposed capacity of LRMT will be capable of moving 35,000 passengers per hour in the City. In Phase-I two tracks will be constructed. One will be a North-South route called the Green Line and other will be East-West route called the Orange Line.Green Line is going to cost US $2.4 billion to construct. The Green Line would extend from Shahdara to Hamza Town via Ravi Road, Lower Mall, The Mall, Fatima Jinnah Road, Qartaba Chowk and Ferozepur Road areas.

The length of Green Line will be 27 km. 11.6 km long Green Line route would be underground, while 15.4 km long would be overhead. There will be 12 underground and 10 overhead stations built on the Green Line route.

Orange Line will cost Rs 1.9 billion dollars. Its route will extend from Pakistan Mint to Sabzazaar via Shahnoor, Awan Town, Hinjarwal, Niaz Beg, Canal View, Wahdat Road, Ali Town, Salahuddin Road, Bund Road, Islam Park, Dera Gujjran Depot, Mahmood Booti, Salamatpura, Samanabad, Gulshan Ravi, Chauburji, Lake Road, Lakshmi Chowk, Railway Station, Sultanpura, UET, Baghbanpura and Shalimar Gardens areas. The length of Orange Line would also be 27-km out of which, 6.9 km long track will be underground, while 20.2 km-long will be overhead upon which six underground and 20 overhead stations will be established.

The central interchange station of Green and Orange lines will also be established besides linking these lines at Ring Road, Railway Station, airport, and sports city. According to initial estimates 245,000 people will benefit from the Orange Train annually.

In Phase-II, two more tracks will be laid out. These routes will be called Blue Line and Purple Line. The route length of blue line is going to be 24 km. The ‘Blue Line’ will start from Chauburji and end at College Road, sources said adding, from Chauburji the line will pass through Mozang Chungi, Shadman Chowk, Jail Road, Main Boulevard Gulberg, Main Boulevard Garden Town, Faisal Town and end at College Road.

The route length of Purple line will be 19 km. Purple line will start from Bhati Chowk and end at Allama Iqbal International Airport. The line will pass through Bhati Chowk, Brandreth Road, Railway Station, Allama Iqbal Road, Dharampura, Ghazi Road and end at Allama Iqbal International Airport. Trains stations on the elevated route will be designed like overhead bridges while train stations on the underground routes will have two entrance ways and two exits.

More CNG Buses for Karachi

KARACHI: Passengers of CNG buses have lauded newly plied CNG buses that are being operated on two routes. The passengers have also offered their gratitude to the City Nazim Mustafa Kamal for his efforts to change the repugnant transport culture that has been tormenting millions of passengers, particularly women.

The passengers expressed these views while they found Kamal was travelling with them as a passenger early morning on Saturday.After attending a ceremony held for distribution of certificates among CNG bus drivers on completion of their training at Surjani CNG Bus terminal on Saturday, he decided to oversee the experience personally. He bought tickets from a local boot and got on the bus. The passengers recognised him and interacted with him liberally.

The best part of the new transport system is that there are no bus conductors, while the drivers are educated and behave modestly. There is no violation of traffic rules and regulations and the bus stops only on the prescribed stops throughout the trip, commented a passenger.We have learned it is useless to ask the drivers for favours such as making a stop, which is not prescribed because it is contrary to the preset guidelines by the City District Government Karachi (CDGK) and Capital City Traffic Police Department, claimed many others.

However, a few of the passengers said that the existing number of CNG buses available to the citizens were less than one percent of the citizens’ needs while there are hundreds of routes in the city where the same operations are required on priority basis. It is also important that the CDGK has assured not to lay burden on citizens by increasing transport tariff once for every quarter.

These buses are environment-friendly and comfortable.Kamal said that he had dreamt of introducing a benevolent and civilised transport culture in the city and he has started it by launching ‘CNG Bus Pilot Project’ with 50 vehicles.With the induction of further 1,600 CNG buses, the fate of the city would become more promising because the existing rotten transport culture would be entirely replaced because citizens of this mega city deserve facilities as per international standards, he commented.

A handful of notorious elements have tried to terrify the passengers of the CNG bus service as they had attempted to set ablaze and destroy some CNG buses. It is a clear message for such elements that they should not challenge the writ of the government, he warned. This transport service is launched with no u-turn and the fleet would be increased according to the needs of the citizens, he vowed. Kamal said that around 80 citizens can travel at a time.

Islamabad-Istanbul Freight Train to Start on Aug 14

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Railways Ghulam Ahmed Bilour has announced that a freight train service from Islamabad to Istanbul via Tehran will be launched on August 14.

Addressing a press conference here on Tuesday, the minister said that if the freight service succeeded, a passenger train would also be introduced on the route.

The minister said he hoped that Pakistan Railways would eventually be able to introduce train service to Europe through Turkey. For that, he added, railway tracks would have to be modified and upgraded.

He announced that Pakistan and China had agreed to establish a consortium for various projects, including the laying of railway track up to Iran and Afghanistan and construction of coaches in Pakistan.

He said the volume of trade between Pakistan, Iran and Turkey was around $15 billion and was growing. The best way to reduce the cost of goods was to link the three countries of the Economic Coordination Organisation with a train service.

Mr Bilour said the passengers’ movement was also growing and the rail link offered a profitable business potential.

He said the main hurdle was the difference of track gauge. Pakistan has broad gauge while most tracks in Iran were of meter gauge. Iran will provide transhipment facilities at Zahedan station till a standard gauge line is laid between Zahedan-Mirjaveh and Quetta.

Mr Bilour said his ministry hoped that the consortium to be set up with Chinese companies would lay standard gauge tracks up to the borders of Afghanistan, Iran and China.

‘The Chinese are building the Torkham-Jalalabad track. We want to link Karachi with Torkham, Khunjrab with Islamabad and Gawadar to Quetta and onwards,’ he said.

The minister said the issues of the cost and financing of the project would be resolved soon. Pakistan, he added, would like a ‘build and manage’ model and avoid financial involvement in the project.

The length of the Islamabad-Istanbul rail link is 6,500 kilometres, 1,900km in Pakistan, 2,570km in Iran and 2,036km in Turkey.

According to railway officials, initially the existing common tariff structure between Turkey and Iran, based on the Europe-Asia Tariff structure, would apply to the Islamabad-Tehran-Istanbul container service.

The idea to establish rail links between Pakistan, Iran and Turkey dates back to 1970s but it was the 10th ECO summit held in Tehran in March this year which decided to launch it in August this year.

The minister said Pakistan had placed an order to China for 200 railway coaches, out of which 150 would be built in Pakistan.

CNG BUS PROJECT KARACHI - OVERVIEW

Karachi Aug 01: City Government has allocated Rs500million in the current year budget for procurement of further 100 CNG buses. Already 50 CNG buses were plying on two routes in Karachi under a pilot project costing Rs250million. Nazim Karachi Syed Mustafa Kamal has a vision to change and upgrade the public transport culture in Karachi.

City Government was also considering start of work on Expressway project. This was stated by Executive District Officer Transport & Communication CDGK Iftikhar Qaimkhani while giving a briefing to media representatives about CNG Bus Project at this office on Saturday. Project Director Muhammad Athar was also present on this occasion.

Mr. Qaimkhani said that presently Karachi needs 5000 buses in public transport sector. Though 50 CNG buses did not cater to this requirement but this is a model project and should be seen as the beginning of change in the transport culture. City Government will welcome all those organizations whether in government sector or private who would want to run the CNG buses under this model. They would be provided with all facilities.

EDO Transport said that City Nazim Syed Mustafa Kamal desires that the public transport system should have the trust of citizens of Karachi. The buses must be operated according to strict time table and the environment should be such a high class that the public give preference to these buses on their own vehicles.

He said that more than 700 educated youths had been given jobs under the project of CNG buses while smart cards with the denomination of 300,200 and 100rupees have been issued for citizens. The bus drivers also got training and they would be bound to stop the bus at the chosen points only. For the purpose of CNG bus operation some work has been outsourced.

“The project was not aimed to earn revenue but to provide maximum travel facilities to citizens in Karachi. All required facilities to bus operators, drivers and staff have been provided at the Surjani Bus Terminal. In the next stage this service would be extended to far flanged areas of the city. City Government has inspectors have been deputed two inspectors for regular checking and inspection of buses on every route. The e-ticketing system would not be affected by the failure of power as the system was running on Ultra Power Supply (UPS),” he added.w

TDCP Launches Tourist Bus Service ‘Aik din, Sadion Ka Safar’

* Tickets to tourist attractions available on the bus

* Buses to run every half hour Staff Report

LAHORE: The Tourism Development Corporation of Punjab (TDCP) formally launched ‘Aik din, sadion ka safar’ (One day – a journey of centuries), a tourist bus service on the pattern of the London Metro Tourist Bus Service on Friday. These buses will start their journey from the Lahore Fort at around 9am and will finish their trip at the Liberty Market by sunset. The bus service aims to showcase various shades of Lahore and highlight the historical landmarks of the city, in order to promote tourism.

The buses, whose route has been called ‘Aik din, sadion ka safar’, will cover all the major markers of the city. The route passes through Liberty Market, Defence Housing Authority, Ichhra, The Mall, Jail Road, Cantonment, Lahore Fort, Badshahi Mosque, Lahore Museum and Anarkali among other places. A souvenir shop will also be set up in the buses, so that tourists can buy guidebooks and replicas of the monuments that they visit.Tickets: Tourists will be able to buy tickets to visit the historical landmarks and other tourist attractions like the Lahore Museum, Zoo and Fort on the bus. Half-hour gap: The buses will run with a half-hour gap, allowing tourists to get off at the places of their choice and be picked up again after half an hour by the next bus. Four buses have been allocated already, as part of the initial stage of this service.

These bues have been painted to portray the city’s indigenous colours. A special jingle – ‘Aa dekh mera Punjab’ (Come see my Punjab) – has also been composed for the service. Various stanzas of the song talk about different parts of the province. A video of this jingle is also being prepared. A documentary about the city will also be screened in the buses in order to inform the tourists about the sites they visit. On Friday, reporters were given a ride in the bus and TDCP officials told them about the project. A senior official said the idea behind the bus service was to promote and strengthen domestic tourism.

He said the number of foreigners visiting the country had decreased over the past few years, and the government planned to facilitate the number of locals. He said the citizens of Lahore would enjoy the bus service and it would be a special treat for people visiting from outside the city