First Orange Line Metro train to reach Pakistan in July this year

BEIJING, May 21 (APP): Pakistan will say goodbye to the days without subways and light rail as the first of 27 trains designed for Orange Line Metro in Lahore, would be delivered by a Chinese company to the Punjab government authorities in July this year.
The remaining 26 will be handed over to the authorities by the end of the year, according to official sources here.
China and Pakistan had signed a framework agreement in April 2015 to build the Orange Line of the rapid mass transit system in Punjab’s provincial capital Lahore.
The system, the first large rail transit project within the framework of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), was contracted by a consortium, composed of China Railway Corporation and China North Industries Corporation.
The first of 27 trains designed for Orange Line Metro in Lahore had already rolled off the production line in central China’s Hunan province last week.
The train with five coaches designed for the 25.58 km Orange Line Metro, is being produced by CRRC Zhuzhou Locomotive Co Ltd.
An energy-saving air-conditioning system, suitable for the constant high summer temperature in Pakistan, has been designed and installed in the train which would have maximum operation speed of around 80 km per hour.
The design combines the national flower of Pakistan and the shape of the dome of the Badshahi mosque while heat-resistant bogies increase durability, said an engineer of the company.
The metro project is being built in accordance with the same quality requirements for high-speed railway linking Beijing and Shanghai, said project manager Wang Feng, adding that the train would be extremely smooth.
The 26-kilometer line will have 26 stations, two of which will be underground.
Adopting Chinese standards, the project will use China-made metro cars and mechatronic systems as well.
A lot of engineering and technical workers from both countries are now working in the forefront of the orange line project that carries the expectation of the Pakistani public.