Integration enables travel from Orangi Town to Nagan Chowrangi via Green Line BRT
Orange Line buses are parked at the facility’s main terminal in Karachi. PHOTO: Express
The Edhi Orange Line will now be integrated with the Green Line BRT at the Orange Line bus depot, Sindh Senior Minister Sharjeel Memon announced on Tuesday.
Addressing the integration ceremony, Memon said the merger has expanded the Orange Line from four stops to 10, allowing passengers to travel from Orangi to Nagan Chowrangi. The integration will enable Orange Line buses to run along the Green Line BRT track, providing easier access for Orangi Town residents.
Initiated in 2016 under the supervision of the Sindh Mass Transit Authority (SMTA), the Orange Line Bus Rapid Transit Project was a four kilometer long bus route from Orangi Town Office to Matriculation Board Office Chowrangi. Although the project was expected to be completed in 2017, the scheme was shelved for the next six years until 2022, when it was finally completed.
During this time, the cost of the project was revised twice, with its final budget being Rs5.5 billion, after including the purchase, maintenance and running costs of 20 buses along with the extension of the project to Nagan Chowrangi. As a result of SMTA’s inability to arrange qualified personnel to operate a bus rapid transit system, the entire logistics of the Orange Line was handed over to the federal government’s Sindh Infrastructure Development Company Limited (SIDCL) for three years.
The extension of Green Line BRT stretches over 1.8 km from Numaish Chowrangi to Jama Cloth Market. Once completed, citizens will be able to travel from Surjani Town to Jama Cloth. Leaders of PML-N, PPP and MQM-Pakistan have promised to work together for Karachi’s development. Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab said that Pakistan Infrastructure Development Co Ltd (PIDCL) has promised to complete and open the Green Line extension to the public by October 31, 2026.
Read: Orange Line does not live up to expectations
The senior minister stated that since the Green Line BRT came under the management of the Sindh government, the daily ridership has increased from 55,000 to 75,000 with a target of reaching 100,000 passengers per day.
He also highlighted that for the first time in the history of the region, a separate BRT service for women has been introduced and new electric buses have arrived in Karachi.
Memon further announced that bus routes in Hyderabad will be expanded and People’s Bus services will be launched in Khairpur, Shikarpur and Tando Allahyar districts. Work on the red line BRT in Karachi has also begun.
He announced that from Wednesday, with the new year, a double-decker bus service will start running for residents of Karachi. The double-decker buses will run on a trial basis from Malir to Shahrah-e-Faisal and are expected to reduce traffic jams and overcrowding. Additional double-decker buses will be introduced to the city.
Read more: Green Line BRT extension resumes
Requesting the Prime Minister to fulfill his earlier announcement of providing 150 buses, Memon stressed that no one will be allowed to occupy government land. He added that Chief Minister of Sindh and Pakistan Peoples Party leadership have directed officials to improve the performance.
He also commented on a video circulating on social media showing a person being beaten and urged the community not to adopt an intolerant attitude. He said that when arguments are weak, people resort to violence and personal disputes are sometimes misrepresented as tribal conflicts.
