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The Pakistan Railways on Monday announced to partially resume Karachi Circular Railway (KCR) from November 16 in phases.
According to a railway spokesperson, Karachi Circular Railway (KCR) is being restored in phases from November 16.
Initially, KCR will run from Pipri to Landhi and Orangi town
The first phase shall see the trains start at Pipri Station and pass through the Landhi, Malir, Drigh Road, Cantonement, City, Kemari, Wazir Mansion, Lyari, Gulbai, Site, Shah Abdul Latif, and Orangi stations.
Sharing details of schedule, the spokesperson said that eight trains would run between Pipri to Orangi, while the train departure times will be 7 -10 am and 1-4 pm.
Official said four trains in Up and Down directions will commute the passengers between Pipri and Orangi stations with a uniform gap of three hours.
The first train will depart the Orangi station at 7am in the morning followed by subsequent departures at 10 am, 1 pm and 4 pm.
The fare for a full journey of 60 km would be Rs 50
Pakistan Railways has reconditioned fifteen bogies in Islamabad which are set to reach Karachi in two or three days as a part of the initial restoration phase of the KCR.
The development came hours after the Supreme Court (SC) issued a show-cause notice to the chief secretary (CS) Sindh and the secretary Pakistan Railways (PR) over failure to remove encroachment from the track of Karachi Circular Railways (KCR).
On February 21, the Supreme Court had ordered to make Karachi Circular Railway (KCR) operational within six months.
On Tuesday, Chief Justice of Pakistan Gulzar Ahmad issued a notice to Chief Secretary Sindh and Secretary Railways on the issue of Karachi Circular Railway.
KCR project
According to Pakistan Railways, the Karachi Circular Railway project will be completed in three phases. The length of the KCR project was 43.13km, including 14.95km on the ground and 28.18km elevated. It would have 24 stations and its per-day ridership would be around 550,000.
The railway officials said that in the first phase, the KCR line from Karachi City Station to Orangi Town would become operational and 32 trains will operate on the track. Its per-day ridership would be around 16,000, while the restoration of the first phase will cost Rs1.25 billion.
The second phase of KCR will cost Rs 8.70 billion, whereas, the third phase would be completed under a public-private partnership.
It may be noted that FWO will construct underpasses and flyovers on KCR tracks, whereas, the security wall on all the routes will be constructed by the provincial transport department. It is noteworthy to mention here that the Sindh government had allocated Rs5 billion funds for the construction of the underpasses and flyovers.
History of KCR
CR was started in 1962 when Pakistan Railways started a successful experimental metro train service from City Station to Drig Road Station. Expanding the project in 1969, a new 140-kilometer track was laid around the city and 23 new stations were built. By 1970, a total of 140 trains were carrying millions of citizens to and from the city center.
In the 1990s, the revenue of the Circular Railway declined and by 1994, KCR facing a financial crisis decided to shut down trains. In 1999, the KCR was completely closed.
The Supreme Court of Pakistan, while issuing strict orders for the restoration of Karachi Circular Railway, directed all the officials of the federation and Sindh to restore Karachi Circular Railway at all costs.
The biggest hurdle behind the non-restoration of KCR was the encroachments in its path. Large scale encroachments have been made on railway lands in Liaquatabad, Yasinabad and Nazimabad.
Karachi Circular Railway project will be completed in three years
Malir Expressway Karachi project expected to start next month
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