Meeting for Financing 500 CNG Buses Project on August 3

Hoping for some positive developments from this meeting ............... let's see how long more to see these buses on the streets of Karachi .............
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KARACHI (August 01 2010): The Ministry of Environment is going to hold a meeting on Tuesday, August 3, with the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and other banks to finalise funding for the 500 CNG-powered buses for Karachi. The meeting here would also be attended by representatives of Sindh government, Karachi City District Government (CDGK) and CNG bus operators.

The meeting would discuss criteria of funding to the already delayed project and, if all issues are settled, the 500 environment-friendly buses would ply on the city's road during this month. Beside the funding issue of the project all other arrangements have already been finalised, and the Minister of Environment, Hameedullah Jaan Afridi, is much interested to start the project in the metropolis, sources said.

All studies and selection of CNG bus operators have also been completed by Karachi Mass Transit Cell (KMTC) of CDGK and the bus supply and manufacturing firms were also ready to run the buses soon after the resolution of the funding issue. Earlier, local and international commercial banks and development financial institutions (DFIs), led by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), had shown interest in providing loans to the pre-qualified manufacturers and suppliers of CNG buses.

Though the ground working for launching of the CNG buses project have been completed, it was needed to have the private public support to run these buses on at least 40 routes of the city. Sources said that the selected and qualified banks, led by SBP, in co-operation and co-ordination of Enercon, would provide 80 percent loans for the project.

The government would also provide subsidy of at least Rs 0.7million for each bus, while the private bus suppliers would facilitate the 20 percent equity, they added. According to the project, initially 500 CNG powered buses were to be run on the city routes and this number would be increased to 4000 during the next five years.

For the successful launching of the project, the co-ordination and help of other institutions, like Hydro-Carbon Development Institute of Pakistan (HDIP), Infrastructure Project Development Facility (IPDF) and Enercon were also sought. At least 14 private companies, including Midway Consortium, a Punjab-based CNG dedicated bus supplier which has good experience in operating such buses in Lahore and other cities of Punjab, had earlier shown interest to operate its buses in Karachi.

CDGK May Scrap Plan to Buy more CNG Buses

KARACHI: The City District Government Karachi (CDGK) Transport and Communication Department (T&CD) might scrap the procurement process of further CNG buses due to paucity of adequate funds.

The total cost of adding 21 CNG buses to the existing fleet of 75 was estimated at Rs 63 million while the CDGK had twice invited tenders for the buses and had also received bids from the interested investors.

Earlier, the CDGK had cancelled the lowest bid on reasons that the successful bidder could not furnish certificates of a strong financial position and the technical ability to run the bus fleet. Thus, the tenders were invited again and the bids were received for the final settlement. However, the bids received were discarded and the onward procedures were sent to the files for good on the pretext of lack of funds.

City Administrator Fazlur Rehman recently vowed that the CDGK would not close down any development projects in the city because of paucity of funds.

The T&CD for the fiscal year 2010-11 has 26 development schemes for which Rs 616.500 million have been allocated. It is pertinent to mention that the department has 114 traffic signals to look after and Rs 26 million have been allocated just for the maintenance and repair of these 114 traffic signals.

While talking to Daily Times, T&CD Executive District Officer Iftikhar Qaimkhani said the CDGK T&CD has not yet dropped the scheme of procuring the new CNG buses but due to lack of the required cash flow, the scheme could not be completed during the last fiscal year.

He added the scheme has been included in the 2010-11 budget with certain possibilities including that either the provincial government would provide the required sum of money or private investors might come forward, whom the CDGK would fully support or even the CDGK might earn enough revenue to fulfil the task itself.

“We have to wait until December to see if the CDGK gets the required revenue or else the project would further linger on until the required revenue is in hand,” commented Qaimkhani.

High-Speed Rail to Benefit China

World's biggest economy is building its Railway so fast and Pakistan is closing down the train one by one ..................... Economic growth cannot be fully achieved until the country has modern and fast transportation system ...............
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BEIJING: China’s construction of a vast high-speed rail network will bequeath it one of the world’s most advanced rail industries, but it needs to monitor the debts it is running up in the process, the World Bank said on Wednesday.

China plans to build 13,000 km (8,078 miles) of high-speed rail lines by 2012, more than the rest of the world combined.

The Beijing-Shanghai line due to open next year will halve the travel time between the two cities to 5 hours.

Trains will travel at a maximum speed of 350 km an hour(218 mph) on 8,000 km of newly built lines and 250 km an hour on 5,000 km of upgraded track.

By 2020 the network will have expanded to serve more than90 percent of the population, at a budgeted cost of 2 trillion yuan ($295 billion), and include 16,000 km of the fastest newly built lines, according to the government’s blueprint.

Li Jun, a senior railway ministry official, told reporters the target for new tracks was likely to rise as the government draws up a more detailed economic plan for the next five years.

The aim is to ensure most provincial capitals apart from those offshore and furthest west are no more than an 8 hour journey from Beijing, boosting efforts to bring growth and urbanisation to poorer interior areas.

Places covered include far-flung southwestern Kunming, the capital of Yunnan province, some 2,000 km from the capital.

China is building a fleet of state-of-the-art trains for the network with the help of foreign firms including Bombardier Inc, Siemens, Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd and Alstom SA.

“This transfer of technology and know-how, together with the experience of building and operating several thousand route-kilometres of high-speed railway, will make China’s one of the most advanced railway industries in the world,” the World Bank said in a report.

“This should position the country to compete internationally when other countries adopt high-speed railways,” the report said, likening the creation of the network to the building of the Interstate highway system, which knitted the United States together half a century ago.

But foreign firms hoping for a long-term bonanza are likelyto be disappointed, with Beijing keen to focus on using imported designs and skills to complement domestic technology.

“We are targetting the most advanced high-speed rail technologies in the world, with innovation as the backbone,” the railway ministry’s chief engineer, He Huawu, said in notes prepared for a news conference in Beijing on Wednesday.

“On the foundation of imported technologies, a dedicated high-speed rail technology innovation platform has been established, so that China’s railway industry will be able to fully rely on its original innovation in the future,” he said.

He denied, however, that foreign companies were being forced to hand over their technology as the price of market access.

The breakneck expansion will create hundreds of thousands of jobs for skilled engineers as well as manual labourers and, apart from shortening passenger travel times, will release much-needed capacity for growing freight traffic, the bank said.

Looking at the lessons to be learned, it said the high population density of eastern China, fast-growing incomes and the prevalence of many big cities fairly close to one another created favourable conditions not found in most developing countries. Nor could all countries make the vast political and economic commitment that a decades-long programme requires.And then there are the financial costs.

Ferozpur Road: LRMTS Primary Artery for Green Line

Following the recent spell of rain in Lahore, one gets skeptical about this major road of Lahore Mass Transit System where the part of it would be underground.

By looking into the the following pictures, where huge holes appeared due to some underground bursting of sewerage pipes, the designer have to really consider the Soil strata and the utilities beneath ........ Hoping for implementation.

No Buses Available For Most LTC Routes

From Lahore Mass Transit System ……… to Local Public Transport System ……… It shall be the dream of this metropolitan residents to have a better and reasonable urban transport …….. Keep it up this will benefit the car production and the Wagon Mafia ……. who is now getting so strong that it even forced Railways to abondon most of its trains …… Even the Korean GM of LTC can't do anything .............
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LAHORE: The Lahore Transport Company (LTC) has yet to arrange for buses to run on all of its 53 routes in the city.

Out of the 53 routes, 30 have been non-operational since April 10, 2010 – the day the LTC marked the routes. Three out of the remaining 23 routes, became inactive recently after Niazi Express wrapped up its operations on June 30 from Route No. 39 and 40 and Premier Bus Service got a stay order on Route No. 138.

Route No. 39 runs from Sherakot to Allama Iqbal Town, Kalma Chowk, Cantt and New Airport, Route No. 40 stretches from Lorry Adda to Wapda Town through Allama Iqbal Town, Faisal Town and Bagarian.

About the 30 non-operational routes, a senior official in the LTC told The Express Tribune that they remained under the use of other forms of transport which did not fall under LTC’s jurisdiction.

These included vans, coasters, and two-stroke, CNG and motorcycle rickshaws.

He said that the company intended to reclaim the routes and replace the undesirable means of transport with an affordable and efficient bus service.

“Other transport services would be moved to alternative routes,” he said.

The strength of buses in Lahore has come down from 1,100 (during 2002 to 2006) to less than 500.

The number of transport companies operating in the city fell from 14 to seven.

Bashir Sial, the Urban Transport Association chairperson, held the government responsible for the trend. He said that government had failed to come up with sound policies and made the transport sector unattractive for investors.

“The transporters were bound to wind up their businesses to avoid losses,” he said.

It was high time the government started providing relief to the transporters or else the few who are left will also be forced to shut down operations.

An LTC official seeking anonymity told The Express Tribune that there was no imminent threat of the transporters shutting down their operations. He said that the LTC had held successful negotiations with some of the transporters.

Besides, he said that the company had also signed agreements with Bahria Town, Nestle, Bandial and Usuzo. These companies, he said, had expressed eagerness to invest in the public transport services and would very soon begin operations.

He said that about 500 buses would be available to operate on several routes in the next five to six months.

Financial Constraints Delaying Lahore Mass Transit Project

When the Government somehow makes up mind to take up some mega project ........... than comes this to stop them going ahead ............... Ironic
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Land-Grabbing Along KCR Tracks Continues

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.

400 New Buses Soon in Lahore

THE Lahore Transport Company (LTC) has finalised arrangements for running 400 new buses in the City.

Moreover, AC coach service will ply in the city within next three months and 11 places have been identified in the city In this regard, where new bus terminals and depots would be established.

This was stated by Chairman LTC Tasneem Noorani while presiding over a meeting of the board of directors here on Wednesday. Advisor to CM Khawaja Ahmad Hassan, MPAs Mohsin Latif, Mehr Ishtiaq, Secretary Transport Mohammad Yousaf, DIG Traffic Tariq Masood Yasin, Javed Masood, CEO LTC, JI Kim, GM Operations Asad Gillani, GM Enforcement Fawad Qureshi, GM Finance Adnan Mudassar were also present in the meeting.

The chairman said that air-conditioned coach service would ply from Defence to Secretariat, Shahdara to Shadman market and Cantt to Kalma Chowk. He said private sector was keen in investing in this project. He said that electronic ticketing system was being introduced in the AC coach service.

He said that agreement between LTC and Bahria Town would give strong impetus in providing better transport facilities to the residents of Bahria Town, Izmeer Town, EME Society, Thokar Niaz Baig, EXPO Centre, Johar Town, Shaukat Khanum Hospital, Main Gulberg and other localities. He said that the route permit had been issued to Bahria Town in this connection. The length of this route from Bahria town to Main market is 35 km. He said that the role of enforcement wing of LTC was being made effective to regulate public service transport in the city.

The meeting was informed that LTC had challaned 9,888 owners of public transport vehicles for violations. Chairman LTC said the process of recruiting 280 transport enforcement inspectors was being initiated by LTC. He said that LTC would set up a modern vehicle fitness centre in Kot Lakhpat for maintaining better standards of public transport vehicles in Lahore. He said that task of road marking and flag posts have been completed on Jail Road, Canal Road, The Mall and Main Boulevard, Gulberg.

Transit guru: My Life in the Bus Lane

I wish that Pakistani's Cities will get a mayor like this one day .....

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Curitiba, Brazil (CNN) -- I had been standing on the street with Jaime Lerner for less than one minute when a stranger stopped to greet him.

"Hello Mr. Mayor!" said a young woman carrying a backpack. A mere 30 seconds passed before another person did the same.

"Oh, my governor! How are you, sir?" said an older gentleman.

"Good morning," Lerner purred in Portuguese as we made our way towards the thing that made him a hero to his fellow Curitibans and an inspiration to a generation of urban planners around the planet: the bus.

Curitiba's Bus Rapid Transit system is one of the most admired public transportation systems on the planet, garnering accolades and spawning spin-off systems in cities like Bogotá and Los Angeles.

Curitiba's six dedicated fast-lane bus lines traverse the city, carrying 36,000 passengers per hour and 2.3 million overall every day. It's affordable too -- a single fare costs $1.25 and will take you 20 kilometers outside downtown.

"You [pay] before entering the bus and you [board] at the same level. And the frequency is less than one minute. It's like a subway. You don't have to wait more than one minute. So it's a good service," said Lerner, a stout polyglot who speaks seven languages.

We then climbed the steps to the elevated glass tube that functions as the enter/exit point and boarded the orange line towards the city center. As we cruised along, even more people stopped to shake Lerner's hand, and it quickly became apparent to me that his reputation as an "eco-pioneer" is well deserved.

http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/07/13/jaime.lerner.curitiba.brazil/index.html?hpt=Sbin&fbid=nxmNqU0XKGs

What's more, it seems that the people who appreciate his work the most are his former constituents, who reap the rewards of his innovative thinking on a daily basis.

"I do think this city was a pioneer. It was a learning process and we quickly started to understand that you have to work fast," said Lerner.

Working fast is what got Lerner elected as Curitiba's mayor three times, and later twice-elected as governor of the Brazilian State of Parana. He and his young fellow architects conceived Curitiba's Master Plan in the mid 1960s, which soon resulted in the bus system as well as pedestrian-only streets, more parks, and later, a unique trash-for-cash recycling program that encouraged people to turn in garbage and reusable materials in exchange for food and other goods.

Word soon spread throughout Brazil and then the world about Curitiba's progressive and environmentally-friendly initiatives, earning it a reputation as one of the "greenest" cities on earth. Lerner now spends much of his time traveling the world and sharing his vision with others.

"Every city can improve its quality of life in less than three years. No matter the scale of the city, no matter the financial conditions," Lerner said. "When we realize that 75 percent of carbon emissions are related to the cities, it is the cities where we can be most effective."

But even Lerner, 72, has to deal with the daily reality of moving around a city with 3.2 million inhabitants. He owns a car but says he tries to use it only when necessary, and is constantly encouraging city planners to create work and living quarters located close to one another. To this end, Lerner certainly practices what he preaches: his office is located across the street from his high-rise apartment.

"My door-to-door trip takes about 40 seconds. It's a tough commute," he joked.

Brazil's booming economy means more cars on the roads these days, and even in Curitiba there's gridlock, something that I witnessed firsthand during my first day in the city. But I soon learned that it only increases many Curitibans' love for the bus.

"I take the bus and I am home in 20 or 40 minutes. In a car, it can take an hour and a half," office worker Cibele Bassi said.

"On the bus I only spend 2 reales. For my car, I need 10 reales worth of gas. So it's better to suffer a little on the bus than to drive my car," said Octavio Silva, a hospital employee.

In addition to its lauded bus system, Curitiba also boasts plentiful parks -- there are 51 square meters of green space per person in the city -- one of the highest per capita rates on the planet.

One of those spaces is the Curitiba Botanical Garden, a sprawling park filled with flowers, ponds and trees. Its art-nouveau style greenhouse is one of the city's most recognizable landmarks.

That's where I met Fabio Duarte, a professor of Urban Planning at the Pontifical Catholic University of Parana who told me that Lerner's global reputation as an eco-pioneer is well deserved.

"He said this little city in the middle of Brazil has something to say; we can have good public transportation, we can have public parks, we can have some kind of recycling garbage program, and this is very important," said Duarte.

Still, Duarte criticized Curitiba's citizens and current leaders for becoming complacent in recent years.

"Most of the programs that Jaime Lerner and his team started 30 years ago....have been left alone or neglected. Public programs can't be left alone. We must be there everyday to maintain them," he said.

Lerner left politics in 2002 and now dedicates his time to his architecture firm, which has worked on urban planning projects for cities including Shanghai in China, Perm in Russia, Mazatlan in Mexico and Luanda in Angola.

He is also designing an electric mini-car, the Dock Dock, that he hopes will clear congested roads and reduce carbon emissions. Lerner says he is proud of his accomplishments, but there's still much for him and others to do.

"There are three major issues now that are becoming important, not only for cities, but for all mankind: Mobility, sustainability -- which is linked to mobility -- and social diversity."

They are all issues that Lerner told me he hopes other city dwellers around the world will start to embrace. And with his infectious enthusiasm leading the way, I am confident that more and more will.

Rs5 billion CNG Buses Project in Doldrums

Same fate expected for this project ................ let's see ........
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ISLAMABAD, July 10: The Rs5 billion CNG buses project aimed at easing public transport pressure in ten major cities is in doldrums.

A Ministry of Environment initiative, the CNG buses project was conceived in 2005 and federal cabinet on July 16, 2008 gave go-ahead to launch 8, 000 buses in major cities like Karachi, Multan, Lahore, Peshawar, Quetta, Faisalabad, Hyderabad, Gujranwala, Sukkur and Rawalpindi and Islamabad. The government had approved 4,000 CNG buses for Karachi alone.

“But the project has met with delays from the start. Gas shortage, financial crunch, political interests, and resistance from local transporters are still major hurdle to this genuine mass transit system,” said an official of the ministry of environment.

However, abandoned by the previous military government, the project seemed to have been picked up by the present regime.

In the budget for 2009-10, the government had allocated Rs300 million against a demand of Rs1.3 billion.

“This drastic cut is because of fears about the success of the project,” he said adding, “Worst, allocations for 201011 were further cut to Rs200 million.” Sources in the ministry were of the view that the money released was apparently for survival of people associated with the project. “Otherwise the project is impractical because of gas shortage.

After the UN sanctions on Iran the gas pipeline project seems to have hit snags and with it the hope to overcome the shortage also dashed.” While relevant government departments had yet to provide implementation plan, route planning and land use, there were disputes between certain offices over provision of high pressure dedicated CNG stations.

“The dedicated Compressed Natural Gas Stations are to come first. But nothing is being done on these lines,” said another official.

The issues of congenial environment for bus operators, identification of routes for CNG buses, selection of operators and manufacturers besides arrangements for any feasible loans were still pending.

KCR to be Back on Its Feet Soon: Senator Gul Naseeb Khan

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.

Plight of Students Commuting Daily, Continues

How long the students have to bear all these huge daily commuting expenses to reach schools, colleges and universities .............
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Commuters Suffer as LTC Suspends Bus Service

How they gonna implement LRMTS ........... when they are not able to run more than 50 buses since this LTC has been formed .................. Ironic
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LAHORE – The commuters, travelling on Route No 51 falling from Bati Chowk to Chungi Amarsudhu, are facing difficulties to reach their destinations due to vehicular congestions at this route owing to the stoppage of bus service provided by the Lahore Transport Company (LTC) since February 2008.

Once the route was considered safe for the road users of Chungi Amarsudhu area to reach different localities of city like Gulberg, Model Town, Faisal Town, Iqbal Town, Samanabad, Mozang Chungi, The Mall and other places. Most of the citizens are running their business in these localities and number of government offices and shopping markets are also situated in these areas.

Now this is the same route, where the people have to wait for hours for a travel of only 20 minutes. With the passage of time, the aforementioned route has become a hallmark of huge traffic mess and accidents.

Vehicular congestions at this major route have been irritating the commuters besides causing unnecessary time and fuel consumption.

As per on-going situation, Mazdas, wagons and auto-rickshaws have been charging fares from the ill-fated commuters according to their unchecked demands. According to official records, almost 700 Mazdas, 500 wagons and 1,000 rickshaws have been plying on the said route.
The citizens are also forced to pay extra-charges if they intend to reach their destinations in time.

Moreover, the traffic mess at the said passage has doubled the miseries of the commuters.
A number of passengers shared to this scribe that it took them almost three hours to reach at Chungi Amarsudhu from Bati Chowk. In the near past they had been reaching their offices in 30 to 40 minutes. They alleged it seemed the LTC had intentionally banned public transport on this route by putting the commuters on mercy of rickshaw and wagon drivers.

Connecting Pakistani Cities with Afghan's via Rail Link: MoU signed

ISLAMABAD (July 08 2010): Pakistan and Afghanistan on Wednesday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to connect Peshawar-Jalalabad and Chaman-Spinbuldak sections through railway link. The agreement was signed by Federal Minister for Railways Ghulam Ahmad Bilour and Minister for Finance, Afghanistan Hazrat Omar Zakhilwal on behalf of their respective governments.

Railway link will be laid between Peshawar and Jalalabad via Torkham to connect both neighbouring countries. Similarly, rail link will also be established through Chaman-Spinbuldak section. Informed sources in the Railway Ministry who attended the meeting told BR that feasibility study of the project will be conducted in nine months. However, feasibility study of 109 kms Chaman-Spinbuldak section has already been completed and waiting for NOC from the Afghan government to start work.

Sources added that Pakistan Railways is facing financial crunch and it is difficult for the organisation to finance the projects. The projects aim at serving the people of Afghanistan. Nowadays, most of the donors agencies including World Bank, Asian Development Bank (ADB) and G-8 forum are taking interest in facilitating Pakistan in its uplift efforts.

"We are trying to arrange money for the said project from these donor agencies, especially G-8 forum who have pledged to develop Afghanistan as Pakistan is facing financial crisis and is not in a position to carry out these projects by utilising own resources," sources maintained. The work on first phase of Chaman-Spinbuldak section measuring about 10 kms to 15 kms will start as soon as the Afghan government issues NOC, sources added.

Pak-China Likely to Ink MoU for Rail Link

LAHORE: Pakistan and China will likely ink a MoU for rail link between Havelian and Khunjerab.

The General Manager Railways (operation) Ishfaq Khattak has immediately left for China to join the official delegation of President Asif Ali Zardari for this purpose.

Pakistan and China have already completed a pre-feasibility report for rail link. — File Photo

According to railways sources the GM operation left for China on Sunday for 12 days visit.

Pakistan and China have already completed a pre-feasibility report for rail link.

The total railway track would consist on 682 Km and there would be 20 railway stations at all major cities in Pakistani side, report revealed.

Chief Engineer Survey & Construction of Pakistan Railways told that the pre-feasibility report had completed by two international consulting companies including Ding Dona and ILF Consulting Engineering but no progress had made after 2004.

He said if two countries would be agreed for a MoU during the presidential visit an international consortium would be constituted for feasibility study and PCI.

After completing Havelian-Khunjerab track, China would link with Pakistan from Gawadar Port, he added.

Karachi Circular Railway Project: Senate Body Directs Stakeholders to Resolve Issues

Not much hopes with the initiation of this project .......... as work on this project was suppose to be started by the end of this year ........ & still the resettlement of the people has not yet started ....
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KARACHI (July 06 2010): The Senate Standing Committee on Railways has directed the concerned stakeholders to resolve issues pertaining to $1.58 billion Karachi Circular Railway (KCR) project within 10 days. According to sources, the unresolved issues related to the KCR project were discussed in a meeting of the committee held here on Monday.

The meeting of the committee was held under the chairmanship of Senator Maulana Gul Naseeb Khan. Haji Ghulam Ahmed Bilour, Federal Minister for Railways, Senator Pervaiz Rasheed, Senator Abdur Rasheed, Senator Dr Khatu Mal and Senator Abdul Ghaffar Qureshi, Senator Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Hyderi and Nauman Islam Sheikh, Parliamentary Secretary for Railways also attended the meeting.

The committee has also advised the Pakistan Railways to hold a joint meeting of all stakeholders of Karachi Urban Transport Corporation (KUTC) within 10 days for finalisation of all the pending issues and completion of formalities by July 30, 2010 and report to be submitted to the committee, they said.

Talking to Business Recorder, Ijaz Hussain Khilji, Managing Director, KUTC, said that all outstanding issues including the resettlement of the affectees of KCR project, which was needed to be resolved immediately were discussed. He said until the allocation of land and resettlement process were not started the practical work on the project could not be possible.

Responding to a question, he said that the re-lending of funds for the much-awaited project was also being discussed and it would also be resolved soon. Additional General Manager, Pakistan Railways, informed the committee that Pakistan Railway being the main shareholder has principally fulfilled all its obligations and remaining other modalities will be discussed with the government of Sindh.

According to sources, the Board of Directors of KUTC will also meet on July 14 to discuss the project and its outstanding issues. The presentation was made by MD KUTC after amicably resolving the dispute between Malir Development Authority and PR for clearing a location for the resettlement of thousands of affectees of KCR project, sources claimed.

Some studies have been done on this project like Environmental Impact Assessment Study (EIAS), resettlement action plan etc under the aegis of Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO).

The KCR project, started to mitigate traffic problems in this metropolis, 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 mark-up rate for a 40-year payback time, including a 10-year grace period.

Strategy Devised to Improve Transport System: CM

LAHORE - Punjab Chief Minister Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif presided over a high-level meeting at Chief Minister’s Secretariat, here Friday, regarding provision of modern transport facilities to the masses.

MPA Mehr Ishtiaq, Chairman Planning & Development, Secretary Transport, Chairman Lahore Transport Company and other officers concerned were present.

The CM said that provision of modern and comfortable transport facilities to the people is among the top priorities of the Punjab government and he wanted to see maximum buses on the roads of Lahore in the shortest possible time.

He said that an effective strategy has been devised for the improvement of transport system and investment in transport sector is being fully encouraged.

He directed that project of provision of 300 buses by investors should be implemented expeditiously and these buses should be plied in the city as soon as possible so that people should not face transport problems.