President NORINCO sheds light on the cultural aspect of OLMT

ISLAMABAD – The Orange Line Metro Train (OLMT) is winding through Lahore city like a shinning ribbon as the colour of the Orange Line was inspired by the national flower of Pakistan, frangipani, which is lively, vibrant and gives people a warm feeling.

“The Orange Line’s whole design was a result of the cooperation between the Chinese and Pakistani companies,” said Yuan Jun, President of NORINCO International, in an interview to the China Economic Net (CEN) yesterday.

“Bearing in mind that Lahore is a historical city honoured with rich culture, we took the style of local architectures, religions, and customs into consideration, hoping that the design could meet the requirements for functional use as well as improve the urban landscape,” he said. As an early harvest project under the CPEC, the Orange Line was constructed by China State Railway Group Co., Ltd. and China North Industries Corporation and was operated by Guangzhou Metro Group, NORINCO International and Daewoo Pakistan Express Bus Service. The Orange Line is the first metro line in Pakistan. It covers a total of 27 km distance and has 26 stations including 24 elevated stops and two underground stations. The opening of Orange Line, now a new landmark of the city, has enabled Pakistan to have the most advanced urban rail transit operating system in South Asia.

“As the constructor of the program, we have adopted the most advanced technologies for the Orange Line. For example, the Communication Based Train Control System (CBTC), which is the most superior of its kinds by far, can transmit data via wireless network and monitor the location of the train in real-time, ensuring the security and efficiency of operation,” Yuan explained.

“Furthermore, to adapt to the high temperature and the capacity for power supply in Lahore, designers of the project have enhanced overall equipment in the electricity system and equipped emergency shutoff system to improve the endurance and security of the facilities as well as the ability to deal with emergent situations,” he introduced.

Yuan said, “It’s difficult to employ a large number of local employees offline during the epidemic, so we adjusted our strategy in time and interviewed thousands of applicants by video to ensure the supply of personnel.”

At the most critical stage of the project, we chartered a group of skilled Chinese drivers to Pakistan to ensure the operation and maintenance of the Orange Line, he added.

Statistics show that commuting time from the first station to the last station of Orange Line has been shortened from 2.5 hours to 45 minutes.