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By APD writer Muhammad Sohail
**ISLAMABAD, Oct. 9 (APD) ** -- The first batch of coaches and engine of Pakistan’s first ever metro train project was made public on Sunday in the country’s eastern city of Lahore.
Shahbaz Sharif, Chief Minister of Punjab province, unpacked cars and engine of the first train of the Orange Line Metro Train (OLMT) along with the staff of Chinese Consulate in Lahore.
The first train for the project, including three coaches and two engines, had arrived in Lahore last week.
A total of 27 sets of trains, each comprising five cars, are being manufactured for the project by CRRC Zhuzhou Locomotive Co., Ltd in central China's Hunan Province.
The project is a part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), and it is Pakistan’s first modern mass rapid transit system.
Shahbaz said the arrival of the first metro train is a great moment and it worth celebration because it will provide world-class transport facility to masses.
The chief minister further said that all the development projects under the CPEC will lift the living standard of Pakistani people.
According to the Mass Transit Authority of the Punjab province, the contractor has promised to deliver total 23 trains by December this year.
The official said that one-fourth of the construction work of the project has already been done and it would be completely finished by the year-end.
An energy-saving air-conditioning system suitable for the constant high summer temperature and unstable voltage in Lahore is the main trait of the train, said the official, and that the train has heat-resistant bogies which will increase its durability, the official said.
The Orange Line, with operating speed of 80 km/h, is expected to be used by up to 250,000 passengers a day at 26 stations at the route of 27.1 kilometres.
(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)
