Lahore: The Pakistan Railways (PR) has announced its decision to resume operations on the 14-kilometre rehabilitated stretch of the Karachi Circular Railway (KCR) from November 19 onwards, a news source reported on November 15.
To this effect, PR Chairman Dr Habib-ur-Rehman Gilani stated that the Railways Department would run ‘newly refurbished trains at the existing rehabilitated infrastructure (track, signals) from November 19’; adding that ‘…we will start running trains (Karachi City-Orangi-Karachi City) at the completed portion (14km) of the entire 55km old KCR route. The operation on the remaining route will also be launched after Nov 19 — probably in the same or next month’.
He further informed that the KCR initiative would reach completion within two and a half years and that the project would be rehabilitated under a public-private partnership (PPP) mode with ‘maximum investments from private firms’.
According to the PR chairman, the KCR route would feature a double track with electric locomotives running on it. He added that the department would launch the civic work following the completion of all preparatory works.
