KARACHI, Aug 9: President Pervez Musharraf is likely to be given final presentation on the revival plan of the Karachi Circular Railway (KCR) on Sunday here in the Governor’s House.

Well-placed sources in the transport department said the feasibility prepared by a private consultant firm, Engineering Consultants International Ltd, had been deliberated on, with coordinated efforts, jointly by the Karachi Mass Transit Cell and three different committees set up by Additional Chief Secretary Shahzado Shaikh, officers of the Pakistan Railways and other specialists.

Recently, the sources said, they also visited the existing tracks of the KCR and reviewed its extension to provide service to more commuters in the city after which a revised plan had been prepared. There was consensus on the revised plan among all the departments concerned, including the provincial and city governments, railway authorities, private consultants and others, the sources added.

According to the revised plan, the KCR would initially consist of two phases with an estimated cost of Rs22 billion. The infrastructure cost has been estimated at Rs8.7 billion and the cost of new rolling stock at Rs11 billion, besides miscellaneous expenditures. The cost of new rolling stock could be reduced if refurbished rolling stock was acquired and a considerable reduction could also be made if new rolling stock was bought from China, the sources said.

They said the phase-I would be completed in three and a half years with an estimated cost of Rs14 billion. The plan had been revised with a multi-model approach, besides making the service viable, sustainable and affordable. After its completion it would reduce pollution and congestion by bringing about improvement in the transport sector.

The Phase-I would include rehabilitation and dualization of 30kms of the KCR tracks, which include the laying of a new spur of 10km from Nazimabad to North Karachi (power house), an additional 18-km-long dual track along the main railway line and launching a shuttle bus service to the KCR stations on multi-model travel concept, which would cater to the need of 750,000 commuters daily.

In Phase-II, a new rail link from Malir Halt to Landhi-Korangi, from Drigh Road to New Karachi, from Baloch Colony to Korangi, and from Drigh Road to Airport, would facilitate an additional 350,000 commuters a day.

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

During the past 50 years, nine studies on Karachi’s transport affairs have been carried out. These are the 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 revival of the KCR service has become essential as it will be, and was, an efficient mode of mass transit, environment-friendly, cost-effective, affordable, comfortable and a fast mode of travel. Twenty-six passengers can travel in a minibus, 60 in a bus, 100 in a double-decker bus, whereas 300 passengers can travel in a light rail airconditioned unit and 1,800 passengers in a heavy rail six-car train.

Statistics show that 1,100 buses ply M. A. Jinnah Road during peak hours a day and it will double in 10 years and tripled in 15 years. The travel time will also increase from 30 minutes to 1 1/2 hours a trip. At present 5,646 public buses are operating in the city, leaving a shortfall of 11,254 buses. In view of the growing population, this requirement will also soar up to 17,000 buses that would also contribute to environmental and noise pollution. This situation calls for immediate revival of the KCR service.

When President Pervez Musharraf visited Karachi in January 2000, it was brought to his notice that the KCR operation had been suspended on December 15, 1999. On the directives of the President, several steps are being taken to make the KCR a viable project.