Formal launch of Islamabad Airport Metro faces further delay

ISLAMABAD: The formal launch of the Orange Line Islamabad Airport Metro is facing a further delay due to political interference and pressures from different operators, Profit learnt on Wednesday.

According to sources, unresolved issues related to the bus service are delaying its formal launch, incurring a huge loss to the government in terms of subsidy while the civic body of Islamabad has diverted 15 buses of the Orange Line Airport Service to the blue and green lines which were inaugurated by the prime minister last week. 

On the other hand, a senior official in the government said that the launch will be further delayed as the contractor for infrastructure development has not completed the trials of elevators, escalators and automatic glass doors at the platforms – which are all currently non-functioning.

Sources said that the Airport Metro’s schedule has already been altered by the Capital Development Authority (CDA) due to business related tussles between the operator of Rawalpindi-Islamabad metro bus service and the operator of airport metro. 

They informed that 30 buses belonging to the Orange Line reached Islamabad more than a month ago. However, so far operational contracts with the company responsible to drive and maintain the buses have only been signed for the blue and green lines. Out of these 30 buses, 10 and five are to be transferred to the blue and green lines, respectively.

On the other hand, 15 buses borrowed from the Red Line – Rawalpindi-Islamabad Metro Bus Service in April to operate on a trial basis continue to operate while buses coming from China have remained parked at the Peshawar Mor Metro Bus Terminal for over a month.

Sources in the civic body said that due to delays in the handing over the new buses to the operator, the government continues to incur a huge loss at the airport route as the operator is charging Rs405 per kilometer from CDA and is threatening to move to the court against the authority for delaying the contract’s signing.

The rate set through the auction of an operation contract was Rs149 per kilometer. 

To accommodate Orange Line’s operator, CDA recently launched the blue and green lines, diverting 15 out of the 30 buses of the airport service.

The authority has also been given a budget by the federal government to procure 10 more buses from the National Radio and Telecommunication Corporation (NRTC), for the two lines. The NRTC has around 250 buses as it was set to operate the Intra District Peoples Bus Service Project on routes in Karachi and Larkana.

However, in the process, as half of the buses scheduled for the airport service have been diverted to other routes, the frequency of buses at Orange Lines has reduced from five minutes to around 10 minutes.

It may be mentioned here that recently inaugurated bus services will travel along the Green Line from Bhara Kahu and Blue Line from Koral to PIMS, whereas the Green-Blue service will combine with the Red Line (Rawalpindi-Islamabad Metro). The Orange Line runs from the airport to the Faiz Ahmad Faiz bus stop.