Abbottabad bus train

This refers to the news report, ‘Of traffic jams in Abbottabad and suggested solutions’ (March 3). Since 1993, the traffic problem has grown too big and complex for basic traffic management techniques. The suggestion in the report, to introduce a bus service between Fawara Chowk and Ayub Medical Complex, is a sensible short-term solution that can be made more feasible and economic by using the National Transport Centre’s endogenously designed and developed ‘bus train’. The vehicle consists of four units and is capable of carrying 400 passengers. It was successfully operated for three years in Karachi and Rawalpindi/Islamabad.

Moreover, its capital cost can be reduced to one-tenth and operating cost to one-sixth of comparable imported vehicles. However, keeping in view the topography of the town and local traffic as primary source of the problem, a two-lane overhead bridge from Fawara Chowk to Mir Pur above the existing road, with entry and exit ramps at strategic locations, appears to be inevitable. Integrating the ‘bus train’ with this project will be a feasible solution.

M Sadiq Swati

Rawalpindi