LAHORE: The Punjab Mass Transit Authority (PMA) on Wednesday released the first official details of the Murree Glass Train, an upcoming project designed to ease travel between Islamabad and the popular hill station.
The eco-friendly electric monorail aims to offer a picturesque, fast, and environmentally sound travel alternative to Murree.
This new option provides an entertaining sojourn for travellers who are seeking a break from road travel.
Route and Journey Details
According to the PMA, the train will run from Lake View Park in Islamabad to a station near the Murree bus stop. The full journey is expected to take around 40 minutes.
The set journey includes a total of four stations:
Lake View Park (Starting point)
Chattar Park Station
Ghora Gali Station
Murree Bus Station (Culmination point)
Fares and Features
The PMA has announced two fare categories:
Standard: Rs. 500
Premium: Rs. 1,000
The glass-walled train will operate on an electric monorail system, making it an eco-friendly option that reduces emissions and avoids traffic bottlenecks.
The project is also expected to enhance the tourism experience by providing panoramic views of the surrounding hills.
The launch date and operational schedule for the project are expected to be announced soon.
On the other hand, the feasibility study of the project has already been completed. Under the project (from Murree to Lake View), there will be a 40-km track from the starting point – Lake View Park to Pindi Point in Murree and most of it will be elevated.
The Punjab government, through its consultant Nespak, would help CDA in completing the pre-feasibility.
A meeting was held at the CDA headquarters in which the pre-feasibility study was shared by Nespak with CDA officials, proposing the civic agency to connect the project with the airport through Faizabad.
It was discussed that from the airport to Faizabad CDA’s metro track was already available which can be used for the elevated monorail project as well.
The consultant also proposed to the CDA to construct a 13-km-long track from Faizabad to near the Bhara Kahu bypass that will link with the main station which will be set up in between Lake View Park and the bypass.
In the next phase, a track can be constructed from Rawat to Faizabad via the Expressway to connect it with the monorail at Faizabad.
It is relevant to note here that Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz has been pushing for the early start of the glass train project for Murree. Recently, she also told a gathering in Murree that the project would be started soon.
The sources said the track would pass through somewhere near to old Murree Road.
About the elevation and hilly terrain of Murree, the Punjab government officials had stated that the rail project was very much feasible as Murree was situated at a height of 2,200 metres, adding during the British era, in 1906, a rail link had been laid to Shimla in India, which was situated at a height of 2,205 metres.
An official said the government wanted to get the monorail/glass train linked with the Islamabad airport to help public, tourists and foreign delegations to reach the capital city and Murree in the shortest possible time.