KARACHI: The Sindh and federal governments have agreed to start trial runs of local trains within 12 kilometres track within the next two months and then plan how to synchronise them with the modern circular railways’ system in the next phase.
This decision was taken here in a meeting between Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah and Federal Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar. Relevant officials from the federal and Sindh governments were also present in the meeting.
The meeting was held to chalk out a strategy in respect of launching the KCR project as was decided in the meeting of the Council of Common Interests and to implement the Supreme Court’s directives to start the projects in Karachi.
The railways’ secretary gave a detailed briefing about the project of KCR and local train system and discussed various options to start the project. He also disclosed a three-phased plan in the meeting.
According to the phased plan, single-line track, rolling of stock, a deputation of human resource and operation were to be taken in the first phase. In the second phase, dualisation of track, signalling, fencing and flyovers/underpasses would be constructed.
In the third phase, the railways’ secretary said, modern urban rail-based mass-transit, transaction advisory services for public-private partnership model, financial model and government model and cross-subsidy model such as land commercialisation would be undertaken.
