Quetta: A mass transit train system has been approved by Balochistan Chief Minister Nawab Sanaullah Khan Zehri for the provincial capital.

He has asked the divisional superintendent of Pakistan Railways, Hanif Gul, to furnish the working paper and PC-1 of the project.

Mr Gul briefed the chief minister on the project and said that it would be a joint venture between the government of Balochistan and the Pakistan Railways.

“The railway track is available for the project. All we need are locomotives and railcars to make the mass transit train system operational in Quetta,” he said, adding that it would be a model system for the entire country.

According to Mr Gul, the project has been designed along the lines of the European mass transit system. “Mass transit trains will run between Kuchlak and Spizand railway stations,” he said. “Stations will be built after every five kilometres.”

He added that these stations would be state-of-the-art while parks and trade zones would also be built along the track.

The chief minister said that the implementation of the project would provide people with a cheap travelling option. He added that this would also decrease air pollution.

Mr Gul informed the chief minister that the working paper would be furnished by Feb 15 and the project would be completed within six months to a year. Senator Agha Shahbaz Durrani was also present at the briefing.

Published in Dawn, January 22nd, 2016