CDWP clears Karachi Circular Railway Project worth Rs292.389 billion

ISLAMABAD: The Central Development Working Party (CDWP) has cleared Karachi Circular Railway (KCR) Project worth Rs 292.389 billion, ARY News reported on Tuesday.

According to details, the decision was taken during the meeting of Central Development Working Party (CWDP) under the chairmanship of Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal in Islamabad.

The project envisages construction of 44-kilometer long and dedicated track, 1.435-meter wide standard gauge, starts from Drig Road passes through different areas including, Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Federal B Area, Liaquatabad, North Nazimabad, Nazimabad, Sindh Industrial Trading Estate (SITE) and Lyari.

The scope of work includes construction of horizontal & vertical curvature, roadway and railway cross-section elements, ramp gradients and layout of structures with respect to the alignment.

The scope of work also includes construction stations, and the provision of Driver. Informatory, Regulatory and Warning Signs, passenger facilitation signs along with allied facilities. Route Alignment of the KCR.

The project is a part of an overall scheme of improvement of transport infrastructure including road network, provision of public transport/mass transit facilities and traffic management in Karachi.

The main objective of the project is to provide reliable, safe, and environmentally friendly public transport to the Metropolitan City of Karachi.

The Karachi Circular Railway project entails the construction of a 43-kilometer Dual Track Urban Rail Mass Transit System expected to be constructed in a period of 4 years.

The Karachi Circular Railway project is expected to serve a daily ridership of 457,000 passengers per day which is expected to soar to 1 million per day in future. The project will deploy the use of electric trains and will be operational for 7 days a week and 17 hours a day.

Thirty stations would be constructed under the project along the corridor covering the densely populated area of the city. The minister/DCPC directed the concerned officials to immediately settle the issues in PC-1 and submit the report in two days.