The revival of the Karachi Circular Railway is also underway and being done on a priority basis
The government of Turkey will help Karachi’s administration in installing tram service at Karachi’s M.A. Jinnah Road and I.I. Chundrigar Road. The Turkish Consul General Tolga Ucak offered the city Administrator Iftikhar Ali Shallwani support for the project.
The tram project will help make the country’s largest metropolis more tourist friendly. The details of the project are yet to be worked out and it could be some time before the trams start running on the major streets of Karachi.
“Efforts are being made to make Karachi a center for tourists like Istanbul and the cooperation of Turkish government in this regard is highly commendable,” Shallwani said.
Shallwani also applauded Turkey for its support in tough times and called it an Islamic brother.
“Turkey is our brother Islamic country and has always helped Pakistan in our difficult times. The Pakistani people highly regard relations with Turkey,” stated Shallwani. “Karachi is Pakistan’s heart and the country’s development lies in the city’s uplift. The cooperation of Turkey and other developed countries in the city’s projects will surely bear fruitful results,” he added.
Karachi Circular Railway
The restoration of the Karachi Circular railway (KCR) is also underway. The Supreme Court ordered the rehabilitation and re-launch of the service in the country’s financial hub. KCR covers 44kms and goes through some of the most important areas in the city. Karachi’s commissioner emphasized on the railways department to expedite the process of revival of KCR as the Supreme Court wants it done on a priority basis.
The project director informed that in the first phase, track-laying and restoration of stations would be completed up to Orangi Railway Station. In the second phase, it would be completed from Orangi to Gilani Station. The work would be undertaken from Urdu College to COD and in the third Phase, he added.
The project once completed should lessen the traveling woes of the people of Karachi. Currently, they have to rely on old and unreliable buses that are in poor shape and are unsafe.