LAHORE, Pakistan: No alternate route or changes in the design of Orange Line Metro Train are under consideration at the level of Punjab Government and Lahore Development Authority (LDA) to address the issues of heritage structures.
Most of the track of train would be elevated saving the Chouburji monument and maximum efforts would be made to avoid damages to the heritage structures.
Well-placed official sources stated here on Tuesday that any change in design and route was out of question because Chinese authorities and the Punjab government okayed the design and PC-I after a thorough deliberation and a huge amount was spent on the feasibility studies of the project.
“This is a mega project having complicated civil works and technically it would be horrible to make any attempt to divert the route from the original design” because there are drains (Nullah) before and after the Chouburji monument, sources added.
The project worth Rs 165 billion is an under-construction line in the Mass Transit network in Lahore.
When completed, it will connect Raiwind, Multan Road, Mcleod Road, Lahore Junction railway station and the Grand Trunk Road.
It will be the first line of the Lahore Metro, which is country’s first mass rapid transit train system.
It will also be financed and developed by the Chinese Government as a part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor through the Exim Bank of China.
The corridor will be capable of accommodating two trains running both up and down the track, ferrying up to 30,000 passengers per hour.
The Orange Line Metro will run on a 27.1 kilometer track, of which 25.4 kilometres will be elevated.
The service will initially benefit around 250,000 passengers a day and this capacity will be increased to 500,000 passengers daily by 2025.
Source: APP
