Rawalpindi-Islamabad Metrobus

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Rawalpindi-Islamabad Metrobus

Overview
Government of Punjab
Rawalpindi, Punjab, Pakistan
Locale
Islamabad, Capital Territory, Pakistan
Transit type Bus rapid transit (BRT)
Number of
1
lines
Number of
24
stations
Daily
180,000
ridership
Website www.metrori.pk
Operation
Began
4 June, 2015
operation
Owner

Operator(s)
Number of
68
vehicles
Technical
System
length

22.5 km (14.0 mi)

The Rawalpindi-Islamabad Metrobus (Urdu: ( ) also called Pindi

Metrobus) is a 22.5 km (14.0 mi) BRT system that serves the twin cities of Rawalpindi and

Islamabad in Pakistan. It uses dedicated bus lanes for all of its route covering 24 bus stations. It
was inaugurated on 4 June 2015 by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif becoming the second fully
functional BRT service in Pakistan after the great success of the BRTS in Lahore.
There are calls for a mass transit system in Karachi as well,[1] as the city is the economic hub of
Pakistan and has a population five times that of Rawalpindi-Islamabad, yet still lacks a public
mass transit system.[2]
The system uses e-ticketing and Intelligent Transportation System wand. The system is managed
by the Punjab Metrobus Authority (PMBA) with the IT part is being carried out in coordination
with Punjab IT Board.

Contents

1 Background

2 Planning and construction

3 Details of Rawalpindi-Islamabad Metro Bus Project

o 3.1 Signal Free
o 3.2 Number of Stations
o 3.3 Functional Elements
o 3.4 Central Control Room
o 3.5 Number of Lanes

4 Route

5 Lines

6 Fleet

7 Companies Contracted To

8 See also

9 External Links

10 References

Background
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by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and
removed. (November 2015)
The capital city of Pakistan "Islamabad" is the ninth largest city in the country. The population of
the city has grown from 100,000 in 1951 to 1.30 million in 2012. Since its foundation, Islamabad
has attracted people from all over Pakistan, making it one of the most cosmopolitan and
urbanized cities of Pakistan and center of economic and service activities which attract people
from all over the country.
Adjacent to the Southern edge of Islamabad lies the city of Rawalpindi. It is situated in the North
Eastern part of the Potohar Plateau in North Punjab. Being Headquarter of Rawalpindi Division
and a close neighbor of the Federal Capital, Islamabad, the population of Rawalpindi City has
rapidly increased over the years.
Benazir Bhutto Road is one of the busiest and most preferred link between the twin cities due to
its shorter length and direct approach. During the last few years there has been an unprecedented
increase in vehicular traffic in the city, especially along Benazir Bhutto Road, resulting in severe
traffic congestion on this route. This congestion causes excessive delays, environmental pollution
and associated socio-economic problems for the daily commuters. Public transport is one of the
major contributors in the traffic mix and the quality of service being provided is of poor standard.
The greater Islamabad Rawalpindi Metropolitan Area is the third largest conurbation in
Pakistan with a population of over 4.5 million inhabitants. The Twin cities of Islamabad and
Rawalpindi are growing at a rate of more than 4 percent per anum, indicating a higher than
national growth due to significant migration. With present growth trends it is expected that the
population would increase to 7.0 million in twenty years time. Since both cities have grown into
each other, significant amount of commuting takes place between the two cities.
Private transport is the major means of mobility between two cities. It consists of Mazda, Toyota
Hiace, and Suzuki vans plying on various routes within and between the two cities. There is no
organized urban bus transport service operating in the city and between cities of Rawalpindi and
Islamabad. Level of service offered by the minibuses is far below any acceptable standard.
Traffic volumes of over 210,000 vehicles ply on three major corridors connecting both the cities
carrying around 525,000 passengers. It is estimated that public transport demand of around
153,000 passengers is available on daily basis between the two cities. Interestingly this passenger
demand is concentrated around a corridor which is of high density and strategically located to
provide for reasonable patronage for a rapid transit system.
Based on studies conducted by Government of Punjab and Capital Development Authority, the
two governments (Federal & Provincial) joined hands to launch a Metro Bus project to connect
the twin cities and alleviate the traffic congestion on this corridor. In a meeting held in Lahore on
19 January 2014, co-chaired by the Prime Minister of Pakistan and the Chief Minister of Punjab,
it was decided that the project shall be funded on 50:50 sharing basis by the Federal Government

& Government of the Punjab. As the Punjab Government has already completed successfully a
similar Metro Bus project in Lahore, Prime Minister of Pakistan decided that the Provincial
Government will execute this project through Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) as the
single executing agency for both parts of the project. It will work in close coordination with the
Capital Development Authority (CDA) for the Islamabad Part of the project. Punjab Metrobus
Authority (PMA) will control the operation & maintenance of the project after its completion.
PMA will also coordinate with CDA at O&M stage of the project.

Planning and construction

Construction of the Rawalpindi-Islamabad Metrobus began on 28 February 2014 and was
completed by June 2015, with 60 buses initially plying on the route. The Rawalpindi
Development Authority is overlooking the project with a cost of approximately Rs 44.31 billion,
which will be shared by both the Federal government and the provincial government of Punjab.[3]
The initial date of inauguration was 28 February 2015, which was delayed because of lack of
planning for drainage of rainwater and slow rate of work leading to inevitable delays in the
construction.. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif finally inaugurated the half-a-billion-dollar metro
bus service substantially completed project on 4 June 2015. Even after the launch of the metro
bus service, the issues regarding the drainage of rainwater still remained unfinished resulting in
the drowning of the underground bus stations during monsoon season.

Details of Rawalpindi-Islamabad Metro Bus Project

Signal Free
The entire length i.e. 8.6 km of Metro Bus corridor in Rawalpindi area is elevated structure
whereas about 14 km in Islamabad shall be at-grade but made signal-free by constructing grade
separations at various intersections.

Number of Stations
Ten (10) in the Rawalpindi Part and fourteen (14) in the Islamabad Part are provided along the
corridor.

Functional Elements
The system uses e-ticketing and Intelligent Transportation System wand. The system is managed
by the Punjab Metrobus Authority (PMBA) with the IT part is being carried out in coordination
with Punjab IT Board.
Functional elements at the stations include ticketing booths, concourse level passenger transfer,
escalators, platform screen. toliterities, doors turnstiles for automatic fare collection and all other
amenities for passenger convenience.

Central Control Room

A central ITS control room is also included in the project to control the whole operation of the
Metro Bus system.

Number of Lanes
Initially the provision of a 10 lane Underpass (2 Lanes for Metro Bus and 8 Lanes for mix
traffic) along the 9th Avenue was proposed at Peshawar Mor intersection. Later on, in view of
the traffic issues at Peshawar Mor intersection, ongoing Widening/Rehabilitation of Kashmir
Highway & its link with new Islamabad Airport, it was decided to dovetail the Metro Bus
corridor in the interchange already designed by CDA which will cost Rs. 6.75 Billion. The same
will be simultaneously executed with Metro Bus Project.

Route
The route is approximately 22.5 km (14.0 mi) in length and has 24 stations. When completed, it
will have the capacity to carry 150,000 people daily.[4]
[hide]
[

]
Rawalpindi-Islamabad Metrobus
Legend

Secretariat Terminal
Parade Ground Station
Shaheed-e-Millat Station
7th Avenue Station
Stock Exchange Station
PIMS Station
Katchehry Station
Ibn-e-Sina Station
Chaman Road Station
Faiz Ahmed Faiz Station

Khayaban-e-Johar Station
Potohar Road Station
IJP Road Station
Faizabad Station
Shamshabad Station
Sixth Road Station
Rehmanabad Station
Chandni Chowk Station
Waris Khan Road Station
Committee Chowk Station
Liaquat Bagh Station
Marrir Chowk Station
Saddar Terminal

Lines
Currently, one line is serviceable with future extension being planned . Government has planned
to build two more lines in near future.

Fleet
68 buses ply the route

Companies Contracted To
The metro bus project has been contracted to several companies over a budget of almost 50
billion rupees (around 500 million US Dollars), and will be divided into three main categories,
the main bids being given to ZKB, National Logistics Center, And Lemak Reliable Joint Venture.
Whereas, Procurement, Operations and Maintenance of Buses was awarded to a Turkish
company Platform (Albayrak Holding).

See also

Punjab Metrobus Authority

Rapid transit in Pakistan

Lahore Metrobus

Multan Metrobus

Karachi Metrobus

Peshawar Metro

External Links

Official Website

References
1.
Calls-for-mass-tranist-for-khi/
Will-karachi-finally-have-a-mass-transit-system/
"Shahbaz to inaugurate work on Metro Bus Service on Feb 28"
Metro bus project: Capitals civic managers cave in to pressure from Punjab

1.
govt

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