BRT Orange line: Relocation of utility lines under way
Ceremony held to mark operation to remove power, gas, water and other lines
Ceremony held to mark operation to remove power, gas, water and other lines. PHOTO: ONLINE
KARACHI:
Come end of next year, the transport-starved metropolis will be 'gifted' two Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) lines, including the Orange line — from Orangi Town to the Board Office interchange — and the Green line — from Surjani Town to Guru Mandir — by the Sindh government.
At the inauguration ceremony of the Orange line BRT's first phase, which includes relocation of utility lines, Sindh transport minister Mumtaz Hussain Jakhrani said along with the completion of the Orange and Green lines by the end of 2016, the Yellow line will also be completed by 2017.
Speaking at the event held at Jinnah University for Women on Wednesday, transport secretary Tuaha Farooqui said the 4.7km and Rs2.364 billion Orange line will start at the Town Municipal Office, Orangi Town and integrate with the federal government's Green line at the Board Office intersection.
"There are water, gas and electricity lines in the area that need to be relocated," said the secretary, adding that the process of relocation was under way and would cost around Rs217.7 million.
Showing the utility cost estimates in a slideshow, he said the cost of relocating Sui Southern Gas Company's line is Rs50.9 million, whereas the cost of relocating pipes of Karachi Water and Sewerage Board is Rs74.1 million, Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited's cables is Rs59 million, National Telecommunication Corporation's cables is Rs180.5 million and K-Electric is Rs33.7 million.
The total number of stations along the Orange line track, according to him, will be four - all of which will be at grade, or ground level. The width and length of the station will be four and 70 metres respectively, he said, adding that the interchanges will be at Pawnay Paanch Chowrangi, Bacha Khan Bridge, Abdullah College Chowrangi and Jinnah University for Women.
The number of commuters on the Orange line is expected to be 50,000 per day, with a system capacity of 10,000 people per hour per day.
Yellow Line
Speaking on the Yellow line, he said the 26.5km corridor will start from Mansehra Colony and will go towards the Jam Sadiq flyover through Sharae Faisal and end at Empress Market.
The corridor, according to him, is being constructed under a public-private partnership and an agreement in this regard will be inked with a Chinese company in January next year.
Red line
For the 21.5km Red line, Farooqui said the track will start from behind the airport at Model Colony and end at Guru Mandir after passing through University Road. The pre-feasibility study of the project has been completed and the project will be completed by 2017 with funding from the Asian Development Bank, he explained.
Replying to a question on safety issues over the public transport project, he said the safety cost was already incorporated in the BRTs' budget. "Private security guards will be outsourced," he said further.
Regarding the issue of illegal parking, which will most likely be the biggest hurdle in the way of the BRTs, he said in a few corridors they were already making parking spaces at the bus stations. Additionally, he said, when the BRT lines become functional, the volume of traffic will automatically come down on the city's roads.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 24th, 2015.
Come end of next year, the transport-starved metropolis will be 'gifted' two Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) lines, including the Orange line — from Orangi Town to the Board Office interchange — and the Green line — from Surjani Town to Guru Mandir — by the Sindh government.
At the inauguration ceremony of the Orange line BRT's first phase, which includes relocation of utility lines, Sindh transport minister Mumtaz Hussain Jakhrani said along with the completion of the Orange and Green lines by the end of 2016, the Yellow line will also be completed by 2017.
Speaking at the event held at Jinnah University for Women on Wednesday, transport secretary Tuaha Farooqui said the 4.7km and Rs2.364 billion Orange line will start at the Town Municipal Office, Orangi Town and integrate with the federal government's Green line at the Board Office intersection.
"There are water, gas and electricity lines in the area that need to be relocated," said the secretary, adding that the process of relocation was under way and would cost around Rs217.7 million.
Showing the utility cost estimates in a slideshow, he said the cost of relocating Sui Southern Gas Company's line is Rs50.9 million, whereas the cost of relocating pipes of Karachi Water and Sewerage Board is Rs74.1 million, Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited's cables is Rs59 million, National Telecommunication Corporation's cables is Rs180.5 million and K-Electric is Rs33.7 million.
The total number of stations along the Orange line track, according to him, will be four - all of which will be at grade, or ground level. The width and length of the station will be four and 70 metres respectively, he said, adding that the interchanges will be at Pawnay Paanch Chowrangi, Bacha Khan Bridge, Abdullah College Chowrangi and Jinnah University for Women.
The number of commuters on the Orange line is expected to be 50,000 per day, with a system capacity of 10,000 people per hour per day.
Yellow Line
Speaking on the Yellow line, he said the 26.5km corridor will start from Mansehra Colony and will go towards the Jam Sadiq flyover through Sharae Faisal and end at Empress Market.
The corridor, according to him, is being constructed under a public-private partnership and an agreement in this regard will be inked with a Chinese company in January next year.
Red line
For the 21.5km Red line, Farooqui said the track will start from behind the airport at Model Colony and end at Guru Mandir after passing through University Road. The pre-feasibility study of the project has been completed and the project will be completed by 2017 with funding from the Asian Development Bank, he explained.
Replying to a question on safety issues over the public transport project, he said the safety cost was already incorporated in the BRTs' budget. "Private security guards will be outsourced," he said further.
Regarding the issue of illegal parking, which will most likely be the biggest hurdle in the way of the BRTs, he said in a few corridors they were already making parking spaces at the bus stations. Additionally, he said, when the BRT lines become functional, the volume of traffic will automatically come down on the city's roads.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 24th, 2015.