Second batch of 40 buses for Green Line BRT arrive in Karachi

KARACHI: The second batch of 40 buses for the federally-funded Green Line Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project arrived at Karachi port on Thursday.

The Cargo vessel name MV IVY Ocean carrying 40 buses from China was scheduled to anchor at the Karachi Port Trust (KPT) on October 14. However, the arrival was delayed due to the unavailability of a berth for the giant vessel at the KPT.

It may be recalled that the first batch of 40 buses had already been reached Karachi last month. The project is expected to be formally inaugurated next month.

Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar Thursday said that second consignment of Green Line bus project containing 40 buses has arrived in Karachi.

In a tweet, he said now all the 80 buses for the project had reached the city. He said preparation for commercial operation of the project was onboard as per the set schedule.

The 18-meter-long buses have 40 seats and can accommodate 140 people. The imported vehicles are of Euro 3 standards which will reduce carbon monoxide emissions. The hybrid vehicles will be run on batteries and diesel. They have a special ramp for people with disabilities and seats have dual space.

On October 4, the test run of the Green Line BRT began on 23-km Surjani Town to Numaish Chowrangi route after the federal government inaugurated the trial operation.

The test run would continue for one month before the launch of its commercial operation in November which is expected to be inaugurated by the prime minister.

Karachi’s Green Line BRT project is 24 km long which includes 12.7 km elevated, 10.9 km at grade, and 422 meters underground, and has 25 stations. The phase-II common corridor from Gurumandir up to Municipal Park with a length of 2.5 km has two underpasses at M.A Jinnah Road.

The state-of-art underground bus terminal with a parking facility and the commercial mezzanine floor was also constructed at Numaish. The construction work on Phase-I of the project was started in 2016 but suffered several delays in completion.