BRT Peshawar remains suspended, to be reopened on Oct 25

It is the 16th consecutive day of BRT-less Peshawar despite all efforts made by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government to see it running, reported 24NewsHD TV channel on Wednesday.

And the service is not going to be resumed in the coming days, as TransPeshawar – the government-owned company that runs these buses – now says the BRT Peshawar would be reopened on Oct 25.

The reports come as the Chinese engineers are still busy in inspecting the buses and replacing the necessary equipment.

Costing billions rupees including the amount incurred amid cost escalation due to the delay in executing the project, the sole mega project launched by the PTI government has been in the news for all the wrong reasons, generating criticism.

However, the project was launched somehow last month after at least two-year delay. But the joy proved to be short-lived amid the multiple incidents of buses catching fire, resulting in the suspension of service just a month after its inauguration.

The fire incidents means that the officials have decided to change motors, capacitors and other equipment to avoid the repeat. So far, the required items have reached Peshawar for 30 buses.

In this connection, TransPeshawar says the necessary equipment would be installed in all the buses before 25.  

In an earlier report published on Sept 22, 24NewsHD said the much-hyped Bus BRT Peshawar had surely become a Chinese puzzle as the Chinese engineers are still unable to figure out what’s wrong with the buses.

At that time, Mohammad Umar Khan – the TransPeshawar spokesperson – said all the buses were being checked and the service would be reopened only after clearing all the technical aspects.

The newly-inaugurated mass transit system was suspended after another vehicle caught fire – in a series of incidents which has raised questions about the quality and maintenance of the fleet.

Umar had said that the fire erupted in the rear of the bus on the Hayatabad route. All passengers were safely evacuated, he said. 

TransPeshawar had initially in a statement termed the fire “mere spark, which was immediately put out”.

However, immediately afterwards the company issued another statement announcing the suspension of the bus service for inspection.

It was the fourth such incident in less than a month. The first bust caught fire on August 26 at Hayatabad station, the second on September 3 at University Road and the third n September 11 at Chamkani.

The project was inaugurated by Prime Minister Imran Khan on August 14 after multiple delays. He had called it “the highest-level metro project of the country”. At least 128 buses ply a 27-kilometre track with 30 stations in the city.

Azmat Ali Shah reported this news for 24NewsHD.