In an era of soaring petroleum prices and high fuel expense, cheaper and comfortable public transport is no less than a blessing for those commute daily within the city for education, work or other purposes.
Punjab being the most populated province of the country was in dire need of quality public transport system in its major cities to mitigate the sufferings of those affected directly owing to high petroleum prices, and that need was fulfilled to a great extent by the successive governments of Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz during their tenures from year 2008 to 2018.
Metro Bus Service was launched in Lahore, Rawalpindi and Multan for public welfare which facilitated millions of commuters due to its modern design of route and low fare affordable for all.
People of Lahore, the most populated city of the province, are privileged to have a state-of-the-art commuting facility in the shape of Orange Line Metro Train (OLMT) – a landmark project under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, through which up to 0.2 million passengers travel daily to reach their destinations.
No other city in the country has such a fast and comfortable public sector transport facility like the OLMT, which is at par with the international standards. It is the first-ever electricity-run train, which facilitates dwellers of major parts of the provincial capital.
General Manager (Operations) OLMT Syed Uzair Shah, while talking to APP said the Punjab Masstransit Authority (PMA) had been taking several measures to increase ridership on the train, which was being utilized by many visitors from other parts of the country other than Lahorites.
The train having 26 stations and 27.1-km-long track, travels at maximum 80 km/h speed, and begins operations at 6:15 am which continues till 10:00 pm. As an early-harvest project of CPEC, the Orange Line was jointly established by the China Railway Group Corporation and China North Industries Corporation, which started its operation on October 25, 2020 in Lahore. Shah informed that around 200,000 people commute daily on Orange Line Train which had a capacity of 245,000, mentioning that 75 million people had taken ride of the train since its inception.
The fare was initially fixed at Rs 40, however a revised fare structure had been introduced to further facilitate commuters under which the fare was fixed as per distance travelled. On taking 4-kilometre minimum ride, it would cost Rs 20 only, whereas the maximum fare would be 40 rupees, the general manager said.
He said the provincial government was providing a subsidy of Rs 6.5 billion annually on the project, out of which Rs 1.5 billion was being paid for electricity as the train run with zero emissions, saving people from pollution.
Due to rising inflation and increasing petroleum prices, more people are opting for the OLMT journeys, he added.
As it begun operations at 06:15 am every day, the train is a convenient mode of commuting for students who prefer it to save time and get a hassle-free ride to their schools, colleges and universities. The train provided a very comfortable ride with a central air-conditioning system, and passengers did not have to wait long for their ride; a train arrives every station after every five minutes, the GM explained.
A passenger Tahseen Raza, who uses Multan Road to reach his office at Allama Iqbal Road from McLeod Road, expressed his delight over OLMT service and said his travelling woes came to an end after the train provided him the latest, fast, comfortable and economical travelling facilities.
He said he had been using auto rickshaw or internet based rides which were quite costly for him as he could not use public transport because of its long route and time consuming practice. Syed Uzair Shah asked for public cooperation for making the multi-billion modern train project more successful.
The OLMT is the third public sector transport project in the city being managed by the Punjab Masstransit Authority, the government of the Punjab, after the Metro bus and feeder bus service (Speedo), he explained.—APP
