You know the costs mate?I am always up for innovative ideas but a city with population of 10 million and probably metropolitan area of Lahore with 2x more population would need a serious transportation network to resolve its issues. It obviously does need multiple lines going across the city and should be enough to serve millions of people on regular basis. A dedicated bus service though not bad is not good enough to meet its current and future demand. It has never happened anywhere in the world
We should be following the examples of India and Bangladesh who are going exactly on the right track. Dhaka Metro, Delhi Metro or Bangalore/Namma Metro should have been role model for us
PS: On this very same forum I have defended Lahore metrobus in past and I still stand by my words but when it comes to choosing the best of project, we definitely have been on the losing cause.
Its freaking expensive. Underground is around 4-5 times as expensive as an above ground metro per kilometer.
Considering Pakistan's chronic economic problems I would say PMLN made a pragmatic decision. When the Pakistani economy gets better in a few years and more sustainable from now, the rest of the Metro network can be made underground.