A master plan for the revival of the Karachi Circular Railway
has been prepared. The plan envisages not only the strengthening of
the existing KCR infrastructure but also its extension to cover those
areas which are currently not taken care of by the KCR.
Engineering Consultants International (ECIL) were appointed
as consultants by the Government of Sindh last year for the rehabilitation
and extension of the KCR. Over the past two months they have carried
out extensive surveys regarding Karachi's growth patterns, emerging
land use and commuter requirements. They have related these to the existing
railway corridor. As a result, they have come up with a provisional schematic
master plan.
The master plan is to be implemented in three phases. Phase-1
consists of the rehabilitation of the KCR which includes the doubling
of tracks between Cantt Station and Landhi so that the KCR can have
its own tracks and as such be completely independent of Pakistan Railways.
This phase also envisages the shifting of railway stations to under flyovers
and bridges at the intersections of major roads with the circular railway.
This will facilitate interchange of transport modes and will
firmly link the railway system with the road network. In addition,
Phase-1 also includes the plying of commuter buses along the Shahrah-i-
Sher Shah from Nagan Chowrangi to the Nazimabad Station; from Orangi Town
to the Orangi Town Station; and from Cantt Station and Jinnah Bridge to
Saddar. It is envisaged that trains will ply every fifteen minutes.
The approximate cost of Phase-1, inclusive of completely new
rolling stock (appropriate for intra-city movement) is estimated between
Rs10 and 15 billion. Phase-1 will considerably reduce the use of roads
by commuters, especially on the main corridors within the circle of
the KCR - a welcome change.
Phase-2 of the master plan envisages the building of a loop
from the Nazimabad Station through the Nazimabad Town, New Karachi Town
and Gulshan-i-Iqbal Town to Depot Hill near the Drive-in Cinema.
It also includes the building of a spine to Orangi Town and
the completion of a loop from Baloch Colony to Korangi and Landhi.
A connection with the Quaid-i-Azam International Airport has also
been planned. The approximate cost of Phase-2, inclusive of rolling
stock, is also estimated at between Rs 10 and 15 billion. With the
completion of Phase-2 almost all of Karachi will be serviced by the
railway.
This will bring about a major improvement, not only in commuting
but also in the physical environment. Use of buses will only be necessary
for short distances, if at all, since the railway will be available
at a distance of about two kilometres to the vast majority of Karachicites.
Phase-3 of the master plan envisages a loop through Keamari
Town and an extension of the Korangi line into Defence Society and
its link up with the Shireen Jinnah Colony and the beach.
Phase-1 will rehabilitate and build approximately 48 kilometres
of the KCR whereas Phase-2 will add 121 kilometres to the network. The
two phases (169 kilometres) are estimated to cost between Rs 20 and
30 billion as compared to the KMTP proposal for Corridor One of Rs 40
billion for the construction of 14 kilometres from Tower to Karimabad.
In addition, the building of this network will have no adverse
environmental effects since it uses the existing rail corridor and
the extensions are on very wide road alignments. The proposed KCR network
will link almost all of Karachi's low, lower middle and upper middle
income areas with the major work places.
Another important feature of the proposal is that ultimately
the railway network will pass through all the 18 towns of Karachi District.
Engineer Zaheer Mirza, head of ECIL, suggests that one station (perhaps
the busiest one) in every town should be developed as an "Awami Markaz".
Maybe the offices of the Town government could also be located in it.
Space for building stations with such facilities have been
provisionally identified. The building of such stations will give
each town a sense of identity and pride and will also give the town
governments a pleasant working environment. Such stations can be self-financed
through the sale of commercial areas linked to them.
The plan sounds good. However, there are problems that need
to be sorted out. Who is going to take over the circular railway land
and stations and decide on institutional and other related matters?
So far, no one.
The Government of Sindh had a couple of years back passed an
ordinance creating the Karachi Metropolitan Transport Authority (KMTA).
The Ordinance has however lapsed. It is necessary to revive it and
create an effective KMTA that can manage and steer the KCR planning
and implementation. Also, the federal government must gift the required
railway line to the City Government so that the implementation of the Master
Plan can become relatively affordable.
The process for the creation of an effective KMTA and the
transfer of railway land and assets to the City Government should begin
immediately as it takes a long time to fulfil bureaucratic requirements
associated with these processes. These should not be the reason for
delays to the implementation of the Master Plan recommendations.
There is a tendency in Pakistan today to hand over the building
of infrastructure on a Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) basis. If this
is done, there are two problems. First, given the law and order situation
in Pakistan in general and Karachi in particular, will anyone bid?
The other issue is that if the KCR is developed on a BOT basis then
fares may be too high for the lower income groups to afford.
This is very much the case in Manila
and Bangkok. The other option is that the government develops the
necessary infrastructure (through loans if it does not have the resources)
and hands over the operation and maintenance of the system to a private
company.
In this case it is estimated that fares can be kept within
Rs10 per trip which would include the profit of the operating company
and revenues for repayment to the government. However, these figures
still need to be worked out properly.
The implementation of the ECIL master plan will change the
lives of the vast majority of Karachiites and will improve the physical
environment. Along with the building of the KCR network other important
development projects are required. One, is the building of landfill
sites and the transfer of garbage sorting and recycling activities to
them. Proposals for this are already with the City Nazim and hopefully
he will take a decision soon.
With these projects in place, Karachi will become a relatively
clean city and hence more peaceful and social and economic rehabilitation
will become much easier.
