‘KCR service from City Station to Orangi will resume soon’

The Pakistan Railways announced on Thursday it would soon revive the Karachi Circular Railway (KCR) from Orangi Town to the City Station on the directives of the Supreme Court of Pakistan.

The newly-appointed divisional superintendent of Karachi, Muhammad Hanif Gul, visited the 14-kilometre circular railway track, level crossings and related installations.

Project Director KCR Ameer Mohammad Daudpota apprised Gul of the rehabilitation work being carried out. The connectivity of the track with the KCR’s operational route would mark the conclusion of an important phase in the revival of the local train service.

The divisional superintendent was also briefed about the complete removal of encroachments from the City Station to the Orangi Station. "The KCR commuter service would be extended from City to Orangi stations," he said while expressing satisfaction over the pace of the ongoing rehabilitation work on the track.

The KCR project comprises a 29.41-kilometre two-way loop along with the provision of a 13.69-kilometre two-way dedicated track along the Pakistan Railways’ mainline, which stretches from the City Station to the Drigh Road Station.

The Supreme Court, in its May 9, 2019, had directed the Pakistan Railways to end encroachments on the KCR’s right of way and hand the track over to the Sindh government, which should make it functional in the next 15 days. However, the operation started partially from the City Station towards Pipri last year in November.

Earlier, the divisional superintendent directed the deputies to visit the marshalling yard at Pipri in order to ensure an unhindered freight train operation and resolve any operational bottlenecks to boost revenue from freight-earning.

The deputy director rolling stock and the deputy director operations visited the marshalling yard, verified the fitness of the rolling stock and examined the operational parameters.