Engineers walk past an engine of "Orange Line Metro Train" (OLMT), in eastern Pakistan's Lahore, on Oct. 2, 2017. The first consignment of OLMT, including three coaches and two engines, has arrived in Pakistan's eastern city of Lahore, local media reported late Monday. (XinhuaJamil Ahmed)
ISLAMABAD, Oct. 3 (Xinhua) -- The first consignment of "Orange Line Metro Train" (OLMT), including three coaches and two engines, has arrived in Pakistan's eastern city of Lahore, local media reported late Monday.
According to local TV channel Dunya, the consignment had reached Pakistan's southern port city of Karachi from China last month and then been dispatched to Lahore on Sept. 25.
A total of 27 sets of trains, each comprising five cars, are being imported from China. Bu the end of this year, 23 train sets will reach Lahore, the report said citing the schedule issued by the Chinese contractor.
A spokesperson of Mass Transit Authority of the Punjab province, where Lahore is located, said the launching ceremony of the first OLMT will be held on Saturday, adding that efforts are underway to complete the project by December.
Khawaja Ahmed Hassan, chairman of Orange Line Metro Train Steering Committee, said nearly 72 percent of the construction work of the project has been completed.
The project, as part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), will be the country's first modern mass rapid transit system and will be a fully automated and driverless system.
The OMLT, with operating speed of 80 km/h, is expected to transport up to 250,000 passengers a day at 26 stations.
The Orange Line is the first of the three rail lines of the proposed Lahore Metro. The line spans 27.1 km, out of which 25.4 km is to be elevated, while 1.72 km will be underground, and 0.7 km of the track will be laid in the transition zone between elevated and underground sections.
A flagship project under the Belt and Road Initiative, the CPEC is a trade network of highways, railways, pipelines and optical cables which are currently under construction throughout Pakistan.
