RAWALPINDI, May 1: The federal government decided on Thursday to revive the Karachi Circular Railway (KCR) project and make it a modern commuter system by 2011.

The decision was taken at a high-level meeting which was presided over by Minister for Railways Sardar Mahtab Ahmed Khan.

A spokesman for the ministry said that the Karachi Urban Transport Corporation (KUTC) would be the implementing agency for the project to be undertaken with the assistance of the Japanese government, which had agreed to provide a soft loan of $872 million.

The project, to be executed in three years, will be of Japanese and European standards. The 50km system would have 21 underpasses and overhead bridges with 23 stations within the city.

The KCR would have the capacity to carry 700,000 passengers on a daily basis. The spokesman said the system would have 246 trains, each with a capacity of 1,236 passengers. The track would be of international standard and a train would be available at each terminal after every three minutes, he said.

The spokesman said the project which had been dormant for a quarter century had been placed on the government’s priority list. The contractor would operate the KCR initially for two years, after which it would be handed over to the Pakistan Railways, he added.

The Karachi Circular Railway (KCR), a mass transit system, has been under consideration since 1976.

The Pakistan Railways has already carried out an environmental impact assessment study for project. In 2002, the Sindh government appointed a consulting firm to prepare a plan to revive the project. The study was named Viable Implementation Plan for the Revitalisation of the Circular Railway.

In addition to maintaining the KCR, the contractor would also be required to train its staff. Sindh police would provide security to foreign engineers and other personnel, the spokesman said.

The KUTC had been authorised to finalise financial arrangements with local financial institutions. The KUTC board of directors would be expanded to include professionals from private sector, the spokesman said.

The project, he said, would provide a convenient, safe, fast and dignified mode of travel and would also lead to the development of land in the neighbourhood of stations and generate immense job opportunities.