Public transport in Pakistan’s second-biggest city is struggling, as 10m Lahoris have been reminded this week. Islamists outraged at the hanging of the man who assassinated the provincial governor in 2011 forced the suspension of bus services—for many, the only way to negotiate the sprawl. Fortunately or not, Punjab’s government has an answer, courtesy of low-cost loans for the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor: bulldoze a path through some of the greatest remnants of the Mughal empire and lay down the first length of a spanking new metro. The Orange Line is to be built by the end of 2017, spanning 27km to shower glory on the government of Shahbaz Sharif (brother of Pakistan’s prime minister) before elections the next year. Conservationists are appalled that the line will pass within metres of Chauburji, a spectacular four-towered gateway, undercut the original waterworks of the Shalimar gardens and scar the UNESCO-beloved skyline.