FalconsForPeace
SENIOR MEMBER
- Joined
- Sep 20, 2013
- Messages
- 1,132
- Reaction score
- 3
- Country
- Location
Karachi urban transport planners should learn a lesson from Mumbai rail system, which runs 2,342 suburban train services daily to facilitate 7.24 million commuters, while for millions of Karachiites, there is not even a single suburban train service.
Though after Partition, Karachi and Mumbai (formerly Bombay) inherited almost the same rail infrastructure, the administration of Mumbai developed and expanded it successfully. On the other hand, the Karachi bosses destroyed it appallingly.
Today, the Karachi Circular Railway (KCR) is a huge failure, while the Mumbai rail system is a global success story with annual riders of more than 2.64 billion, becoming the second busiest rapid transit system in the world. Meanwhile in Karachi, commuters face immense problems after 11:00pm - public transport almost disappears after that. But in Mumbai, trains run from 4am until 1am.
The Mumbai Suburban Railway services have different classes of train services: a local train which stops at every station, another is a "class fast local", which runs express (skipping stops) until a certain station, and from that station onward runs like a local. A fast, super fast, double fast services are also there, which run express for various lengths of route.
Women-only trains (termed ladies) can also be found, and since 1992, there are special trains for the ladies, exclusively for women passengers.
Mumbai currently has four rail corridors for the mass transit system (with separate tracks) totalling 149km. Trains have a headway of 3 minutes during peak hours, ranging from 5 to 10 minutes during the rest of the hours of operation, except late at night, when headway is about 20-30 minutes. Alongside much of the mass transit tracks, the long distance tracks also carry "fast" trains, which do not stop at all stations.
In comparison to the Mumbai rail system, the Karachi Circular Railway (KCR) is a sad story. It began regular passenger service in 1969 but was ultimately shut in 1999 due to gross mismanagement.
KCR began its operation through the Pakistan Railways, with the aim of providing better transport facilities to Karachi and the surrounding suburbs. The original KCR line extended from the Drigh Road Station and ended at the Karachi City Station, carrying six million passengers annually.
The KCR was an instant success and made significant profits in its first year of operation. It was at its peak until the 1980s with 104 daily trains, out of which 80 trains ran on the main track, whereas the remaining on the loop line.
During the 1990s, private transporters of Karachi contracted KCR staff indulged in corruption and by 1994 it was in incurring major losses. As a result, a majority of trains were discontinued with only a few running on the loop.
Hence in 1999, KCR operations were discontinued. The result was instant gridlock on Karachi streets. In 2005, revival plans for the KCR were initiated; however, till date, nothing substantial has been done to restart the project.
The government of General (retd) Pervez Musharraf only paid lip service to the KCR revival; whereas the PPP in support of the MQM also followed the same policy - did nothing during their five-year term. The present governments of the PML-N at the centre and the PPP in Sindh so far have also taken no practical work on this project to the dismay of Karachi commuters.
If the government planners and Pakistan Railway officers study the model of Mumbai suburban rail system, they could easily revive the KCR, as its infrastructure including tracks, railway station, signals and racks are still there. All they need is some good locomotives and a strong political will.
Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan
Though after Partition, Karachi and Mumbai (formerly Bombay) inherited almost the same rail infrastructure, the administration of Mumbai developed and expanded it successfully. On the other hand, the Karachi bosses destroyed it appallingly.
Today, the Karachi Circular Railway (KCR) is a huge failure, while the Mumbai rail system is a global success story with annual riders of more than 2.64 billion, becoming the second busiest rapid transit system in the world. Meanwhile in Karachi, commuters face immense problems after 11:00pm - public transport almost disappears after that. But in Mumbai, trains run from 4am until 1am.
The Mumbai Suburban Railway services have different classes of train services: a local train which stops at every station, another is a "class fast local", which runs express (skipping stops) until a certain station, and from that station onward runs like a local. A fast, super fast, double fast services are also there, which run express for various lengths of route.
Women-only trains (termed ladies) can also be found, and since 1992, there are special trains for the ladies, exclusively for women passengers.
Mumbai currently has four rail corridors for the mass transit system (with separate tracks) totalling 149km. Trains have a headway of 3 minutes during peak hours, ranging from 5 to 10 minutes during the rest of the hours of operation, except late at night, when headway is about 20-30 minutes. Alongside much of the mass transit tracks, the long distance tracks also carry "fast" trains, which do not stop at all stations.
In comparison to the Mumbai rail system, the Karachi Circular Railway (KCR) is a sad story. It began regular passenger service in 1969 but was ultimately shut in 1999 due to gross mismanagement.
KCR began its operation through the Pakistan Railways, with the aim of providing better transport facilities to Karachi and the surrounding suburbs. The original KCR line extended from the Drigh Road Station and ended at the Karachi City Station, carrying six million passengers annually.
The KCR was an instant success and made significant profits in its first year of operation. It was at its peak until the 1980s with 104 daily trains, out of which 80 trains ran on the main track, whereas the remaining on the loop line.
During the 1990s, private transporters of Karachi contracted KCR staff indulged in corruption and by 1994 it was in incurring major losses. As a result, a majority of trains were discontinued with only a few running on the loop.
Hence in 1999, KCR operations were discontinued. The result was instant gridlock on Karachi streets. In 2005, revival plans for the KCR were initiated; however, till date, nothing substantial has been done to restart the project.
The government of General (retd) Pervez Musharraf only paid lip service to the KCR revival; whereas the PPP in support of the MQM also followed the same policy - did nothing during their five-year term. The present governments of the PML-N at the centre and the PPP in Sindh so far have also taken no practical work on this project to the dismay of Karachi commuters.
If the government planners and Pakistan Railway officers study the model of Mumbai suburban rail system, they could easily revive the KCR, as its infrastructure including tracks, railway station, signals and racks are still there. All they need is some good locomotives and a strong political will.
Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan
