Lahore: The Orange Line Metro Train (OLMT) project is expected to become operational by March 2020, a news source reported. As per officials, Pakistan’s ‘first-ever modern metro system’ will first undergo a three-month trial run prior to its full-fledged launch.
Previously, the project management had faced hurdles with regard to the power supply acquisition for the train’s transit system. Mass Transit Authority General Manager (GM) Ozair Shah said that eight grid stations would provide electricity to the OLMT service.
He added that the UET grid station and three stations of Shahnoor were the only sources of power available at the moment. He explained that the project required an aggregate of 75MW of power supply to commence with its operations. He added that the authorities concerned had arranged for alternate energy sources in order to meet this demand.
It is notable that the Supreme Court (SC) had recently accepted the Punjab government’s request to be allowed time until January 2020 for making OLMT track-ready.
As per reports, the OLMT service will serve 30,000 passengers on an hourly basis following its commercial operationalisation. The project has been designed to provide its services to 250,000 passengers on a daily basis. However, the management expects to expand its services to facilitate 300,000 passengers on a daily basis by 2023.
