The Punjab government on Friday announced to start the Orange Line Metro Train (OLMT) service for public on March 23.
According to details, China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) Authority Chairman Lieutenant General (r) Asim Saleem Bajwa ordered to inaugurate the service for public in two months and directed the contractors to speed up the work.
It is pertinent here to mention that work on the Orange Line was started on October 2, 2015 by the provincial government of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) – led by Shehbaz Sharif in the province – after securing USD 1.6 Billion loan from Exim Bank of China.
The project was to be completed in 27 months but due to stay order issued by the Lahore High Court and exponential increase in cost of project, work progressed slowly and will now be completed after a delay of two years.
Let it be known that the first train under the mass-transit project Orange Line Metro Train had hit the rails for the trial run in December, 2019.
The Orange Line is an automated rapid transit system in Punjab’s capital Lahore. The line will span 27.1 km (16.8 mi) with 25.4 km (15.8 mi) elevated and 1.72 km (1.1 mi) underground. Out of the total 26 substations, 24 are elevated and two are located underground.The line is expected to handle about 200,000 passengers daily, and they will be able to cover the 27 kilometers within just 45 minutes. The maximum speed of the train is 80 km/h, but the train will run at an average speed of 34.8 km/h.
