Punjab CM Buzdar inaugurates Lahore Orange Line Train project

LAHORE: The Orange Line Train will start operating from tomorrow after Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar inaugurated Pakistan's first electricity-run public sector transport project on Sunday.

According to Radio Pakistan, the Orange Line project comprises of 26 stations and tracks spanning over 27.12km and besides providing people with a world class transport system, the project intends to lessen traffic on the Multan Road.

As many as 250,000 persons will be able to commute daily using the Orange Line trains.

"Orange Line Metro Train is the first transport project under CPEC which is also a symbol of Pakistan-China friendship and a gift for the people of Lahore," read a statement on Radio Pakistan.

The Orange Line trains will run from 07:30 am to 08:30 pm. The fare charged for a one-way trip will be Rs40. Experts from China have trained Pakistani drivers on how to operate the train whereas the Lahore Waste Management Company will be responsible for the train's cleanliness. 

The trains, which will be run on electricity, will be provided power by eight grid stations. According to sources, the operational time of the trains will be extended to 16 hours. Cameras have been installed on all routes of the train and inside it as well. 

The project took five years to complete.

Those who served Lahore and Punjab are behind bars: Saad Rafique

PML-N leaders Khawaja Saad Rafique and Ayaz Sadiq also celebrated the inauguration of the project, claiming it was the brainchild of former Punjab chief minister Shehbaz Sharif and the PML-N government.

"The government had been thinking all along not to give credit of the Orange Line train project to Nawaz Sharif," said Sadiq.

Criticising the PTI's Peshawar Metro Bus project, Sadiq said that the buses were not consistent in their performance. "Peshawar's metro buses run, then stop. Then run and then stop [again]," he said.

Lamenting the rise of inflation across the country, Sadiq said that the masses were waiting for the incumbent government to be sent home. "That time is not far away when we will be rid of this government," he said.

Attacking Prime Minister Imran Khan, Sadiq said that the premier's thinking was "limited", adding that he only spoke of chickens and bhang.

"First I used to come in the prime minister's dreams. Now, he sees Nawaz Sharif in his dreams," said Sadiq.

He appealed to the people of Lahore to ensure the PDM's upcoming jalsa in the city turns out to be a successful one, promising the masses that the December "will be a decisive month" for the government.

Speaking on the occasion, former railways minister Khawaja Saad Rafique wondered what PML-N president Shehbaz Sharif and his won, Hamza Shehbaz's crimes were.

"Those who served Punjab and Lahore are languishing in prison," he said. "Shehbaz Sharif's crime is that he changed the destiny of the province [for the better]."

He said that Shehbaz was still standing by his elder brother Nawaz Sharif, praising the ex-chief minister Punjab for transforming Lahore into a better city.

Turning his guns towards Prime Minister Imran Khan, Rafique said: "You were selected, you are selected and you will leave [office] in the form of a selected [person]," he added. "You were not elected, you were selected."

Referring to PM Imran's usual style of critiquing the Opposition, the former railways minister said that it was not wise for the prime minister of a country to parody political opponents.

"It is not befitting for a prime minister to indulge in childish activities," he said.

He urged PML-N supporters not to do any act of violence but remain peaceful in their struggle against the government.