Orange Line Metro Train: first train to reach Pakistan by July’s end

BEIJING: The first of 27 trains designed for Orange Line Metro in Lahore, would be delivered by a Chinese company to the Punjab government at the end of this month. This will be beginning the era of subways and light rail in Pakistan.

The train designed and manufactured under a framework agreement signed between China and Pakistan in April 2015 to build the rapid mass transit system in Lahore, had already rolled off the production line in central China’s Hunan province in May this year.

The remaining 26 trains will be handed over to the authorities by the end of the year, according to official sources here.

The system, the first large rail transit project within the framework of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), was contracted by a consortium, composed of China Railway Corporation and China North Industries Corporation.

The train with five coaches designed for the 25.58 km Orange Line Metro, is being produced by CRRC Zhuzhou Locomotive Co Ltd.

An energy-saving air-conditioning system, suitable for the constant high summer temperature in Pakistan, has been designed and installed in the train which would have maximum operation speed of around 80 km per hour.

The design combines the national flower of Pakistan and the shape of the dome of the Badshahi Mosque while heat-resistant bogies increase durability, said an engineer of the company.

The metro project is being built in accordance with the same quality requirements for high-speed railway linking Beijing and Shanghai, according to the project manager.

The 26-kilometer line will have 26 stations, two of which will be underground.

Adopting Chinese standards, the project will use China-made metro cars and mechatronic systems as well.

It is the early achievement and demonstration project of CPEC and is a demonstration project of China-Pakistan cooperation under the background of Belt and Road Initiative.

In April 2015, China and Pakistan signed the Orange Line Project EPC Contract and the contract price is about 1.6 billion dollars. The project was financed by Export-Import Bank of China and CRRC ZELC was responsible for manufacture. Besides, it adopted the standard of China and metro vehicle and electrical system of it all adopted Chinese equipment.

The project will go into service in the first half year of 2018. Thus, it will ease the traffic pressure of Lahore effectively by shortening the drive time to 45 minutes or so from 2.5 hours and providing services to 250,000 people each day, or so it is claimed by the government.

According to an analyst, in the first year, it can achieve about 9.29 billion rupees (about 610 million Yuan), and save about 5.62 billion rupees (about 370 million Yuan). It will bring remarkable social and economic benefits as well.