KARACHI, July 23: A high-level meeting here on Wednesday decided in principle to revive the operations of the Karachi Circular Railway.

The meeting presided over by Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ibad was attended by Sindh Chief Minister Sardar Ali Mohammed Khan Mahar, Railways Minister Ghous Bux Khan Mahar, provincial ministers Syed Sardar Ahmed, Shoaib Ahmed Bukhari, Chief Secretary Dr Mutawakkal Kazi, City Nazim Naimatullah Khan, and other officials.

The participants of the meeting, agreeing that the revival of the KCR project was in the extreme interest of the city, formed a committee to submit its recommendations within a month on making the KCR functional on permanent basis. The committee to be headed by the Sindh chief secretary would include the city Nazim, the general manager of the Railways and the officials concerned as its members, the sources told Dawn.

The Sindh government officials informed the meeting that the launching of the KCR project was aimed at reducing the travel time and providing the cheapest, comfortable and environment- friendly mode of transport to the citizens of Karachi.

The Railways officials observed that transport operators in Karachi had been playing with the lives of citizens and a train-based transport system was badly needed.

The officials said Chinese experts had studied the KCR in the recent months and the revival of the KCR was a part of a multi-model system for meeting urban transportation needs of the city.

Railways Minister Ghous Bux Mehar told the meeting that his department would extend all possible cooperation in reviving the KCR. “We are ready to start the project”, he said.

The Sindh governor also stressed the need for reviving the KCR project saying that this mode of transport was a requirement of the city.

However, City Nazim Naimatullah Khan clarified that the city government was not in a position to make a huge investment to revive the project. “If any private entrepreneur likes to invest on build-operate-transfer (BOT) basis, we will welcome the investor”, he observed.

The sources quoted the city Nazim as saying: “I want to put on record that the existing land along the KCR tracks in the city is owned by the city government.”

The Railways minister, however, strongly disputed the city Nazim’s claim and said: “The Railways has a documented evidence about the ownership of the property along the KCR tracks.” The city Nazim took a stand on his claim and said he wanted to put his claim on record.

The Sindh governor intervened and asked the meeting to leave the issue of the land with the newly formed committee which would also deliberate on this issue. The Railways authorities informed the meeting that although the Railways would extend its assistance to upgrade infrastructure, the city government would be responsible for upgrading level-crossings and build flyovers if needed.

The sources said the government had already spent more than Rs3 billion to build flyovers on level-crossing in the city for an uninterrupted flow of the circular train.

Referring to the failure of the KCR service, the sources said the non-extension of KCR tracks in the past, lack of resource planning and commitment, irregular service and lack of integration in road transport were among the causes of the failure of the KCR service, which was planned in 1952 and completed in 1964. During its peak performance, 104 trains were operated daily with the sale of six million tickets per year.

The KCR operation had been suspended on Dec 15, 1999 after the Pakistan Railways refused to operate the service due to recurring losses.

During the past 50 years, nine studies on Karachi transport affairs were carried out, which are MRVP Masterplan 1952; Karachi Rapid Transit Study 1974; Karachi Transportation Masterplan 1985; Karachi Mass Transit Study 1990; KCR Improvement Study (JARTS) 1990; KMTS Priority Corridor 1, 1994; KMTS Priority Corridor 2, 1994; BOT Contract on Corridor 1, 1996; and KMTA/NMTA Implementation Plans 1997.

The statistics show 1,100 buses cross M.A. Jinnah Road at peak hours a day and the number will double in 10 years and triple in 15 years. The travel time will# also increase from 30 minutes to 1.5 hours per trip. At present 5,646 public buses are operational in the city and 11,254 buses are still required. In view of the growing population, the requirement of buses will also surge to 17,000, which would contribute to environmental and noise pollution, if the KCR service is not launched without any delay.