Another stretch of Hyderabad Metro ready to roll by August
Telangana government now focuses on connectivity to airport
With the 16km-long stretch of Hyderabad Metro between Ameerpet and LB Nagar fast getting ready for opening by August, the focus of the Telangana government will now shift to connecting Shamshabad International Airport to the Metro service.
Minister for Urban Development K Taraka Rama Rao, after undertaking an inspection tour on the L B Nagar line and examining the facilities, told the media that a detailed project report for a new line from Gachibowli to Shamshabad airport would also be ready by August.
July-end opening
The date of the opening of the LB Nagar stretch on corridor II will be fixed for July end, depending upon the availability of the Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao.
“We are working on a seamless connectivity for bus, train and air services as per the vision of the Chief Minister KCR,” he said.
KTR’s entourage on the inspection tour of the LB Nagar stretch included ministers, elected representatives and top officials including the Hyderabad Metro Rail managing director NVS Reddy.
The route passes through key areas like Lakdi Ka Pul, Nampally, Moazzam Jahi Market, Central Bus Station and Dilsukhnagar and was expected to decongest the busy roads.
The metro line will provide connectivity to Nampally railway station and Hyderabad’s main bus station.
With the opening of this line, the entire Miyapur to LB Nagar Corridor II will become operational. On Corridor I, the line is operational from Nagole to Ameerpet. Work is progressing on the remaining part up to Hitech City.
Work is also progressing on Corridor III from Secunderabad to Imlibun, which will be later extended to Falaknuma.
With the opening of LB Nagar route 45km of the total 71kmlong metro will be ready and operational.
“Ultimately our goal is to connect the metro to the airport in such a way that people could reach the Shamshabad airport from any part of the city by metro,” KTR said.
Corridor extension
As part of this plan the Corridor I ending at Nagole will be extended to LB Nagar and from there to Shamshabad. This will be in addition to Gachibowli-Shamshabad stretch.
To solve the problem of lastmile connectivity, the state government is also planning to introduce electric vehicles in a tie-up with Uber and Mahindra, he added.
Expressing satisfaction over the turnout of passengers on Miyapur-Ameerpet-Nagole line KTR said that 80,000 passengers were travelling per day which was higher compared to Bengaluru and Chennai.