Park & Ride Project on M.M.Alam Road Lahore

Indeed a wonderful idea ............. waiting to see it being implemented
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CHIEF Minister Mian Shahbaz Sharif has said modern parking plazas will be constructed in all major cities of the province. He said the construction of a state-of-the-art parking plaza in Liberty Market was in final stages whereas the work on park and ride project pm the MM Alam Road would start soon.

He stated this during a meeting with the chief executive officer of Colliers International Mr Tony Davis here on Saturday. Shahbaz said parking facility was important keeping in view the increasing number of vehicles.

He said completion of multi-storey parking plaza in the park and ride project on the MM Alam Road would be of an international standard. He said parking plazas would help improve traffic management. He directed the authorities concerned to evolve a transparent policy regarding parking plazas and all projects should be of high quality. He said like the Liberty Market, plazas would also be constructed on a built operate transfer (BOT) basis in various areas of Lahore and other big cities of the province.

The CM asked the LDA director general to make special arrangements for security in parking plazas and give final shape to the process of identifying suitable places for construction of such plazas in the city.

The LDA director general said a transparent policy had been adopted for construction of parking plazas and firms had been selected in this regard. Earlier, Colliers International CEO Tony Davis gave a detailed briefing to the CM regarding parking plazas in Liberty Market and park and ride project on the MM Alam Road.

The Housing secretary, City Traffic DIG and officials concerned were present. Quality healthcare: Shahbaz Sharif has said the Punjab government is paying attention to the provision of modern and quality medical facilities to people and facility of dialysis and free medicines are available in hospitals.

He was talking to Federal Minister for Health Makhdoom Shahabuddin who called on him here on Saturday. The CM said that for the first time in the history of the country, air-conditioners and generators had been provided in hospitals.

He said that besides the construction of new hospitals, rural and basic health units were being upgraded in the province. He said work on the project of mobile dispensaries was going on and more funds would be allocated in the next provincial budget for education, health and other sectors of social development.

CM Punjab meet Swedish Company for Mass Transit & Bus Transportation

LAHORE (May 28 2010): Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has said that government is paying special attention to provide better transport facilities to the people of Punjab and effective measures are being taken for implementation of Lahore Mass Transit System (LMTS) as well as provision of modern and comfortable buses.

He stated this during a meeting with 4-member delegation of Swedish Company Rail Control Solution, Bonbardier Transportation led by its President Anders Lind Berg, at Chief Minister's Secretariat here on Thursday. Co-operation in mass transit sector came under discussion during the meeting.

The Chief Minister said that project of Lahore Mass Transit System was of great importance and the government was speedily working on this project in view of its significance. He said that Swedish company RCS Bonbardier Transportation was internationally recognised in railways sector and the government would welcome its co-operation in this project. He also directed to constitute a working group, which would review the co-operation on Mass Transit System Project. He said that it was a good opportunity for Swedish company to extend co-operation in the project and it should come forward in this regard.



The Chief Executive Officer of Lahore Rapid Mass Transit System Salman Ghani informed the delegation about the various aspects of the project. Head of the delegation Anders Lind Berg informed that his company had vast experience in railway sector and had worked on various Metro projects in different countries. He said that his company was interested in extending co-operation in Mass Transit System in Punjab and he would talk with concerned authorities in this regard. Kh Ahmed Hasaan, Chief Executive Officer Lahore Rapid Mass Transit System (LRMTS), Salman Ghani, Director Programme Shahid Mahmood and Secretary Transport, Captain Muhammad Yousaf (Retd) were also present on the occasion.

Plight of Railways Continues. Shame on Big Bosses of this Organization

What's left now in seeing thins backbone of the country's transportation falling a;; around
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LAHORE (May 27 2010): Pakistan Railways is violating Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) regulations and all norms of International Competitive Bidding (ICB), by trying to procure 150 diesel locomotives in a pre-planned manner from General Electric of USA, at more than double the last purchase rate of locomotives, which will result in a improper procurement of Rs 40 billion.

It was written in the letter by an American locomotive manufacturer General Motors/Electromotive Division (EMD) to the Ministry of Railways. American locomotive manufacturer General Motors/Electromotive Division (EMD) has jumped into the fray to the severe dismay of Railways higher ups.

EMD has written a serious letter (copy available to Business Recorder) through their local office to Minister of Railways drawing his attention to the serious violations of PPRA Rules and irregularities both technical and procedural being committed in this tender for 150 locos just to favour a certain bidder General Electric.

EMD letter states that the Railways tender "is termed "International Tender" whereas the product is to be manufactured and supplied from one country, ie USA. Restricting the bidding from USA will deny EMD to get financing under Canadian EDC channels who offer better terms and conditions than EXIM Bank USA and is far more favourable for both Pakistan Railways and the Government of Pakistan."

EMD openly and directly states that "We believe technical specifications are being formulated with a view to keep EMD out of competition and favour the competitor, ie General Electric. To mention a few: EMD is being restricted to 645F engine, which is outdated, obsolete and no more being manufactured or offered. "Similarly EFI (Electronic Fuel Injection) is being made mandatory to favour General Electric.

EMD office complains that "EMD stands disqualified even before participation" in the tender, which is all being done for ensuring that there is only one winner, ie General Electric. EMD letter concludes by requesting that the specifications for fairness to all bidders and not favourable to a particular manufacturer/supplier, ie General Electric.

Apprehensions expressed in EMD's letter were absolutely true, said an official in the Ministry of Railway seeking anonymity, and provided a copy of the tender to this scribe. The sources stated that the technical specifications have been deliberately tailor-made by General Electric's supporter. Behzad Mahmood, who is Railways CME/Loco, and who has ensured that General Electric can be the only bidder who will meet these specifications, he added.

As stated in EMD letter, Behzad Mahmood has intentionally kept only two diesel engines as acceptable in the technical specifications of this tender. The first being General Electric's 7FDL, and the second being General Motors/EMD's 645F. Railways is well aware that EMD's 645F engine is out of production, so in actual fact Behzad Mahmood has very shrewdly and cleverly ensured that there can only be one qualified bidder, ie General Electric.

By the way, restricting the bidding to any specific brand/make is violation of PPRA procurement rule 10. Further proof of mala fide intent is that the technical specifications of this tender are almost exactly in line with the original General Electric proposal dated 12 February 2010. In other words, the standard PR technical specifications have been altered from previous tenders so that they are customised for General Electric's locomotives.

Apart from the choice of General Electric Engine 7FDL, AC-AC traction has been specified for the 3000 HP locomotives. This is exactly as per General Electric Offer dated 12 February 2010 despite the fact that all current locomotives on Pakistan Railways have AC-DC traction. Similarly, to name another customisation, Electronic Fuel Injection has been made mandatory.

Transparency International Pakistan (TIP) has already written to Railways requesting for an explanation of this dubious tendering. To deter other bidders from buying the tender documents (and complaining about the obvious collusion with General Electric), Railways took the unprecedented step of keeping the tender price at Rs 500,000 (which was one hundred times more than the Rs 5,000 price of previous locomotive tenders). Exposure of this fact in the newspapers and electronic media made the Railways backtrack and reduce the bid price to Rs 5,000 on 13 May 2010.

Sources added that Railways General Manager (Manufacturing), Syed Shahid Ahmed, is masterminding this mis-procurement and is making all out efforts to justify the high cost and purchase of General Electric locomotives for personal vested interests, and he has even been quoted in a local paper blaming President Zardari of corruption in the previous purchase of locomotives. Shahid Ahmed is focal person and the author of the Decision of the Railways Executive Committee dated 02 March 2010, which recommended that the preparation of PC-1 for this project could be avoided by disguising this procurement as a replacement, and attempted to sign the contract with General Electric without any tendering on the basis of their dated 12 February 2010.

An official in the Ministry of Railways hoped that this tender process is investigated by the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA), the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), Auditor General of Pakistan, National Accountability Bureau (NAB), and last but not the least prayed that suo moto notice should be taken by the honourable Supreme Court of Pakistan.

Details about Lahore Mass Transit Project/Lahore Metro

I found a very nice brochure detailing the procedure and concept of the whole Lahore Metro or Lahore Mass Transit System .......
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ADB to Give $500 Million Loan for Reviving Pakistan Railways

ADB assistance always comes when the institutions are almost about to collapse ........... I hope this aid shall be helpful in reviving the almost dead Pakistan Railways which is right now closing all the train and routes one by one. Its indeed very sad to see such an important mode of transportation falling..............

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ISLAMABAD: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will provide $500 million for the Pakistan Railways under it multi-tranche financing facility MFF, officials said.

The loan, to be provided under the Railway Investment Development Plan of the government, is aimed at turning the flailing department into a profitable one. Officials said the first installment of $120 million will be released next year while the remaining loan will be delivered in two installments until 2013. The ADB has also approved a separate $1.5 million in technical aid which will be spent on procurement, preparation of roadmap, hiring of consultants and project implementation.

The final approval for the project will be given after a technical assistant for the railways submits a feasibility report to the bank by the end of the current year. According to documents, the first part of the project will link railway lines of Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Shahdara and Lala Musa to industrial cities of Faisalabad and Rawalpindi. This railway line will give access to Peshawar and provide strategic support to the National Trade Corridor. It will also be used for travelling from Karachi to Peshawar and Torkhum and if the railway line gets linked to Torkham then it will provide great ease in transportation of goods to Afghanistan, Jalalabad and cities in other provinces.

The documents showed that a 70km railway line between Gujranwala and Lala Musa will be extended. Besides, a computerised inter-locking signaling system will be introduced on the 134km railway track between Shahdara and Lala Musa. The final project, to take off in 2013, with the delivery of a $190 million installment, will be the establishment of a rail link between Shahdara to Faisalabad and the improvement of communication system in addition to installing computerised system over this route.

Public Transport Situation in Pakistan

Very nice explanation by Hasb e Haal team about public transport problem.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4cOWfwputUY&feature=player_embedded#!

Hinopak: Good option for Lahore Transport Company to buy Buses

CM Punjab should instruct the Lahore Transport Company to support those companies who purchase local manufactured buses and HINOPAK is much famous in this business.
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Modern Transport Infrastructure Soon: LTC chief

LAHORE

THE Lahore Transport Company (LTC) is strengthening the role of private transport sector in the city.

The private sector is taking keen interest in the purchase of 300 new buses for Lahore. A state-of-the-art transport related infrastructure will be established soon in the city.

According to a press release issued on Thursday, the LTC Chairman said this while presiding over a meeting of the board of directors here on Thursday. Board members Ahsan Chughtai, Javed Masood, Meher Ishtiaq Ahmed, Secretary Transport Muhammad Yousaf and Traffic Police SSP Muhammad Azhar Akram participated in the meeting.

LTC GM Operation Asad Gillani, GM Enforcement Fawad Qureshi, GM Finance Adnan Mudassar, Manager Operation Asfand Yar, Deputy Manager Planning Huma Daha were also present. LTC Chairman Tasneem Noorani said that a transparent procedure had been adopted for the purchase of 300 buses. He said that in response to advertisement in major news papers, a number of credible private transport companies had shown interest in investing in urban transport project initiated by the LTC. He said that a driving school and vehicle fitness centre of international standards would be set up in the city. He said that international institutions were also extending cooperation in reforming the transport system of Lahore.

He said the LTC had established 10 bus-shelters on the B9 Route from railway station to Kahna. These shelters have been built in Garden Town, Model Town, railway crossing, Main Bazaar Ismail Nagar, Chungi Amar Sadhu, Qaddafi Stadium, Children Hospital and Ghazi Road bus stops. Such bus shelters will also be built in other parts of the city. He said the LTC was planning to provide air-conditioned coasters at Model Town and Defence as a pilot project to minimise unnecessary use of cars. It would give help reduce traffic congestion in the city.

He said that private sector had also shown avid interest in the project of air conditioned vans in this pilot project.

Deputy Manager Planning Huma Daha briefed the meeting on the survey conducted for the Defence and Model Town pilot projects. Manager Operations Asfand Yar briefed the meeting on the measures taken for transport related infrastructure in the provincial metropolitan.

Lahore Mass Transit System - Making of Lahore Metro Authority

Further update about Lahore Mass Transit System
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KCR Project: 'Re-Lending' issue Hampering Approval

KARACHI (May 18 2010): The Karachi Circular Railway (KCR) project, is likely to be approved by President shortly, is feared not to be implemented if it is approved without solving the issue of "re-lending" of around $1.58 billion by the Japanese government.

According to sources, Karachi Urban Transport Corporation (KUTC) has submitted a report about the long-awaited project to President. The president, who is recently in the city, is likely to approve the project with other three transport related projects, they said.

KUTC, they said, has demanded the approval to shift the "Exchange Risk Coverage of 6.8 percent to the corporation, which means the reduction of almost 18 percent from the approved fund of $1.58 billion. The direct transfer of the amount to KUTC through the federal government, which would face an 18 percent cut, making the project impracticable, sources said.

They said the procedure of releasing funds would face the drastic cut of 6.8 percent "risk rate" and almost 12 percent "interest rate" making the total deduction of over 18 percent.

Interestingly, there was an easy way to save huge amount as there would be no reduction of risk rate if the foreign fund was managed to be transferred to KUTC through Pakistan Railways (PR), they said. But, they said, the high-ups in the KUTC were reluctant to transfer the amount directly to the corporation. Sources claimed, a meeting was held on December 18 at Economic Affairs Division (EAD), Islamabad, which had suggested to use the safe route for the transfer of fund.

It was suggested in the meeting that funds would be released through the Ministry of Railways to KUTC, who on its Board of Directors the senior officials of PR, Government of Sindh and City District Government Karachi (CDGK), they said. But despite a lapse of over four months, the relevant authorities had not been able to resolve the issue. The sensitive issue, it is stated, was not addressed since the project was under going different studies during the last few years.

The fresh report to the president, sources claimed, was submitted by KUTC after resolving the dispute between Malir Development Authority and PR for clearing a location for the resettlement of thousands of effectees of KCR project. The project had already passed through different studies like Environmental Impact Assessment Study (EIAS), resettlement action plan etc under the aegis of Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO).

Lahore Mass Transit Project: Finally back on Track

Indeed a very heartening news after a long time .................... Thanks to CM for his approval and interest.
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LAHORE: A seminar on the Lahore Rapid Mass Transport System (LRMTS), the futuristic capital city train project meant to reduce congestion on city roads, that is expected to be built in 15 years, witnessed an interesting development on Friday when the issue generating the most heated debate turned out to be the right of the people to name the project.

Participants of the third seminar in the series included engineers and former civil servants. Some of them said they were shocked that the government had not invited the citizens to help name the country’s first metro system. Suleman Ghani, the LRMTS chairman, assured the anxious participants, “The civil society will be taken into confidence before an agreement is reached.” Earlier, Zahid Baig, a retired civil servant, said he was worried that there had been no meaningful consultation with the people who had, for decades, looked after the transport sector. He said that their input was important. Also, he said, they should have been the first to propose names and a logo for the project.

He sought then to take the lead in this respect and suggested that the LRMTS should be named Quaid-i-Azam Metro Train. Jabbar Huma, an engineer, said that the project should be named after a national hero, somebody for whom the people had great respect and love. “If people vote to name it Benazir Metro Train, I don’t see any harm in it,” she added. Sajida Zuberi said for her security was the biggest concern. The problem, she said had been aggravated by the on-going operation against militants. Unfortunately, she said, it was far from clear what the government planned to do to make the facilities safe.

Several consultants helping with various aspect of the project, including Alexander Jonard, Faysal El-Khoumisti, Meera Eland, Pamela Rogers and Mazhar Iqbal, also attended the seminar. Javaid Aslam, the Planning and Development Board chairman, presided over it. The speakers said for ensuring a better quality of life for all their residents, mega urban centres like metropolitan Lahore needed to develop within the framework of strategic master planning, incorporating economic parameters for efficiency gains.

They hoped that the system would minimise congestion on public transport routes, provide high quality service in terms of speed, frequency and ease of accessibility to reduce the dependence on road vehicles and facilitate safe and environmentally sustainable transport. They said in its first year of operation the Green Line will daily carry nearly 300,000 passengers. “After ascertaining the project’s economic and financial viability through the network feasibility studies and pertinent review by the Asian Development Bank, the government of Punjab has obtained ADB’s commitment to finance the infrastructure component for the LRMTS project – around 50 per cent of the project’s overall costs.

The government is considering several options including the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) for the metro’s rolling stock, system and operations. Initially, the metro is to have a fleet of 26 trains. Later, 27 more trains will be added. Each train will have 6 cars – a capacity of 1,040 passengers – and may include a separate section for women and children. “The trains will be around 100 metres long, around 3 metres wide and fully air-conditioned. The automated train operation system will allow a two minute headway.

This will provide ultimate capacity of 30,000 passengers per hour in each direction.”All station platforms are planned to be 102 metres long and to have screen doors. All stations will be accessible for disabled passengers from the street to platform level. The stations are designed to contribute to the city’s image. Small shops and kiosks at these will allow the passengers to purchase newspapers, drinks and snacks, during their journey. Presiding the seminar, LRMTS planning chairman, Javaid Iqbal later gave an insight in to the project, expected to be completed in three phases.

He said that the system would minimise congestion on public transport routes as it is expected to approximately commute nearly 0.3 million passengers daily. He went to tell that a French company SYSTRA is expected to allocate more than fifty per cent of the funds for the project. The project is expected to be opened with a fleet of 26 trains during the first phase and another 27 will be added by next, the chairmen added

CM mention about Lahore Metro

LAHORE (May 14 2010): Punjab and Iran signed eight agreements regarding co-operation in transport, technical education, establishment of modern slaughter house in Lahore, science, establishment of floriculture and flower plant centre, recreational park, solid waste management and beautification of cities.

CM Punjab said the government is setting up a state-of-the-art Expo Centre in Lahore with the co-operation of the federal government. The Expo Centre is in the final stages of completion and will soon be inaugurated. It is his desire that joint Pak-Iran exhibitions should be arranged at the Expo Centre. He said Punjab government is also working on the Metro project in Lahore and it will try to complete the project as soon as possible.

A Wonderful Study on Transportation System in Pakistan

How Long Our Transport Departmernts Shows their Negligence

May 04, 2010: The plight of the commuters in Pakistani urban cities continues .............. where they are paying huge fares for such ugly rides .............. ironic