KARACHI, March 2: The much-awaited operation of the local train, a part of the Karachi Circular Railway (KCR), is likely to be inaugurated on March 8. Divisional Superintendent of Pakistan Railways, Karachi , Junaid Qureishi told Dawn on Tuesday that the preparations for the operation had been completed and a demonstration would be held on March 4.

"Its formal inauguration will be held on Tuesday (March 8) with the launching of five up and five down trains. The fare has been fixed at Rs7." He said that a private company had been awarded contract for managing the ticketing system. Initially, the train service would shuttle between Landhi/Malir and the City Station, and in the next phase it would cover other city areas, he added.

Sources in the railway and provincial government identified the private company as M/s Mass Transit (Pvt) Limited, saying that its bid of Rs3.6 million per annum, with 10 trains running between the two points, had won it the contract.

Each train, comprising six coaches, would have a seating plus standing capacity of 140 passengers. The fare, fixed at Rs7, would be for any distance between the starting point and the last destination, they added.

The sources said that the railway, in coordination with the transport departments of the Sindh government and CDGK, had started removing encroachment from many parts in the city along the loop of the KCR.

"We faced resistance at some isolated spots, but it's not a major issue. We will remove all the encroachment along the KCR loop as work on it is in progress," said an official.

The sources said that KCR tracks had been encroached upon with a mala fide intention by builders' mafia who always eyed the prized land of the railway and wanted the KCR project to be scrapped so that they could construct high-rises on the precious land.

The sources said that 22, out of 26, level-crossings needed improvement. "We have categorized these level-crossing as 'critical' and 'essential'. Those in the category of critical need urgent improvement whereas those in essential category require upgrading at a later stage," an official explained.

He said that flyovers or subways for 13 level-crossings in critical category were urgently required as they could not be closed every now and then for movement of vehicles because it could cause traffic mess frequently.

The sources identified the spots where these critical level-crossings are located as Sehba Akhtar Road, Hasan Square, Baloch Hotel, Gharibabad, Mujahid Colony, Abbasi Shaheed Hospital, Orangi Railway Station, Bara Maidan, Manghopir/Nawab Steel, Manghopir Railway Station, SITE Railway Station, Ghani Chowrangi (SITE), National Motors (Hub River Road), Shah Abdul Latif Railway Station, Gulbai Chowk, and Port Trust Station (West Wharf Road).

The KCR service had been planned in 1952 and completed in 1964. During its peak performance, there were 104 trains operating daily with the sale of six million tickets per annum. However, the KCR operation was suspended on December 15, 1999 after the Pakistan Railway refused to operate the service due to recurring losses.

The revival of KCR was made possible after Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz formed a task force and directed the Sindh government, the CDGK and the Pakistan Railways to make coordinated efforts for the purpose.