Pakistan – Punjab to Launch First Underground Metro Train Service in Lahore
Source Xinhua, Dawn, Arab News, Anadolu and Minute Mirror
The Punjab government has started work on the feasibility and design phase of the Blue Line Metro Train project, which will be a significant addition to Lahore’s public transport system.
Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz has instructed Provincial Transport Minister Bilal Akbar Khan to fast-track the process, intending to complete the feasibility and design work as quickly as possible.
The Blue Line Metro Train will cover a 27-kilometer stretch from Valencia Town to Babu Sabu Chowk, passing through major areas such as Johar Town, Faisal Town, Garden Town, Kalma Chowk, Gulberg Main Boulevard, Jail Road, Ferozepur Road, and Allama Iqbal Town.
The project is expected to serve over 250,000 passengers daily. The government has set a three-year timeline for the completion of the Blue Line Metro Train, with advanced construction techniques and heavy machinery to be used, including tunneling at a rate of up to six meters per day.
The project’s estimated cost exceeds Rs600 billion, though the final figure will be determined once the feasibility and design phases are finished.
International financial institutions from China, Japan, and France are interested in funding the project, which has already been studied by the Punjab Transport Department. Initial studies in 2016 suggested an underground section, but the latest study in June 2024 confirmed the feasibility of an entirely underground route.
Reference Link:- https://propakistani.pk/2025/02/22/punjab-to-launch-first-underground-metro-train-service-in-lahore/
Zamir Ahmed Awan is the founder and Chair of the Global Silk Route Research Alliance, a think tank in Islamabad. He studied engineering at Shanghai University in the 1980s, and years later he went back to China as Pakistan's science counsellor in Beijing, from 2010 until 2016, working on science and higher education cooperation between the two countries.…
