Millions promised e-bus, fast train services

100 electric vehicles for Punjab scheduled to arrive this month

LAHORE:

Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif has approved a plan to provide new electric buses for 10 additional districts of Punjab.

The approval was granted during a meeting chaired by the chief minister to review progress on mass transit system projects in Gujranwala and Faisalabad

The districts where the new electric busrs will ply are Attock, Bhakkar, Hafizabad, Khanewal, Layyah, Sheikhupura, Gujranwala, Sialkot, Mandi Bahauddin and Okara.

The chief minister directed authorities to ensure early completion of construction and rehabilitation of metro bus stations and also approved their new designs.

She was informed that under a free transport initiative, more than 125,000 passengers had benefited on 21 routes, while 3,560 bus trips had been completed so far.

Officials said 100 electric buses would arrive during the current month, followed by 350 by mid-May and 264 more by the end of June.

It was decided to establish dedicated bus depots for electric buses in every division of the province.

The chief minister also sought a plan to operate 1,500 electric buses at the tehsil level.

A progress report on Punjab's first e-taxi scheme was also presented. According to the report, 194 e-taxis would arrive next month and 208 in June.

Establishment of modern bus stations in Lahore was also reviewed, while the chief minister granted approval in principle for an e-bike scheme for government employees.

Railway routes

A memorandum of understanding was signed by Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz and Federal Railways Minister Hanif Abbasi for launching Pakistan's first fast train between Lahore and Rawalpindi that will complete the journey in two and a half hours.

Officials said in a briefing that modern trains will operate on eight local routes across 20 regions covering 1,415 kilometres.

Punjab will provide modern trains for regional routes under the agreement.

Train services will operate on the 79 kilometres Shahdara–Narowal and 62km Narowal–Sialkot routes. A new train will also run on the 370km Raiwind–Kasur–Pakpattan–Lodhran route.

Services will also be introduced on the 220km Sheikhupura–Jaranwala–Shorkot, 147km Lala Musa–Malakwal–Sargodha, 68km Faisalabad–Chak Jhumra–Shaheenabad and 303km Kot Addu–Dera Ghazi Khan–Kashmore routes.

The Punjab government will introduce new railway engines and modern coaches on these routes.

Railways Minister Hanif Abbasi said nearly 90 million people would benefit from the nine routes.

He expressed gratitude for the improvement of Lahore Railway Station and said measures were being taken to prevent accidents through automated systems. Beautification and international-standard parking facilities are also being developed.

He added that green parks spanning 40 kilometres from Shahdara to Raiwind will present scenic views similar to European countries, while over 400,000 trees are being planted along railway tracks across Punjab.

The minister said that in the past, not even a single kilometre of railway track had been developed nor investment made.

He said that Punjab's people would be provided rail facilities at par with European standards.

Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz also expressed her desire to provide European-style transport facilities to the people of the province.