After the Telangana cabinet approved a proposed expansion of the Hyderabad Metro Rail Limited (HMRL) by over 300 km at an estimated cost of Rs 69,100 crore to be implemented in under five years, HMRL managing director NVS Reddy Tuesday added that half of the project would require no acquisition of properties as a 25-metre right of way has already been dedicated along 156 km of the Outer Ring Road (ORR) for Metro rail. To minimise cost at these stretches, the height of the viaduct could be kept low at 3 metre above ground level and at grade level whenever possible, he said. The HMRL MD stressed that Rs 69,100 crore is not an underestimation of costs. “Due to the elevated nature of our Metro, we can construct at Rs 200 crore to Rs 300 crore per km when compared to Mumbai, Chennai or Bangalore which would require anywhere between Rs 600 crore to Rs 1,000 crore per km because of underground stretches,” he said. Speaking to indianexpress.com, Reddy said, “We are at a very initial stage. We expect to submit the preliminary project report in about four months. There will be changes after the preparation of the Detailed Project Report. At this stage, we cannot say anything in detail.” https://twitter.com/rahulvpisharody/status/1686362895935025152?t=cxnwz8dSBYnFLvZ_DWj8lw&s=19 Addressing the media, he said, “Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao and Municipal Administration and Urban Development Minister K T Rama Rao have a vision and they could confidently say the project will be implemented in less than five years and that the government is keen on the project as a solution to develop and decongest Hyderabad. Already 1.2 crore people live in the core city, the CM's vision is to develop Hyderabad into a liveable city in the future and plan for another 1 crore population.” The state government has clarified that it would seek assistance from the Union government for the proposed expansion and would still go ahead if the Centre remains unresponsive. After the full implementation of the phase 2 and 3 projects, the HMRL will extend its network across the city, encompassing a total distance of 415 km featuring 186 stations. The expansion is likely to be a government-funded project unlike Phase 1 which was a public-private partnership; unless decided otherwise by the government. According to Reddy, the 27 km Blue line corridor connecting Nagole to Raidurg was not initially a part of the initial project and has today turned out to be the busiest section, with Raidurg being one of the busiest stations. He said a lot of development is happening on the outskirts of Hyderabad. “The CM's vision is that people travelling to the city for work could park their vehicles at Outer Ring Road (ORR) and travel to any part of Hyderabad in 45 minutes to 1 hour,” Reddy added. As per the proposal, part A of phase 3 will comprise six corridors covering 142 km and have 68 stations. While one would connect BHEL to Patancheruvu and Isnapur (13 km; eight stations; Rs 3,250 crore), another would connect L B Nagar to Hayathnagar and Peddamberpet (13 km; eight stations; Rs 4,500 crore). Another corridor would connect Shamshabad Junction Metro station with Kothur and Shadnagar (28 km; six stations; Rs 6,800 crore). A corridor is planned to connect Uppal with Bibinagar via Ghatkesar (25 km; 10 stations; Rs 6,900 crore). From Shamshabad international airport to Kandukur via Tukkuguda ORR and Maheshwaram X Road (26 km; eight stations; Rs 6,600 crore), another corridor is planned. A corridor is planned to connect Tarnaka with ECIL X Road (8 km; five stations; Rs 2,300 crore). In part B of the phase 3 expansion, a Metro corridor is planned to cover the 136 km stretch of the Outer Ring Road. This will have 16 stations and does not include the 31 km Airport Metro which is part of Phase 2 and goes along the ORR. Similarly, under part C of phase 3, a corridor is planned from Jubilee Bus Station to Tumkunta (17 km; 13 stations; Rs 5,690 crore) and another from Paradise Junction to Kandlakoya via Kompally (12 km; 10 stations; Rs 4,400 crore). These two corridors are proposed as two levels or a double-decker flyover where one of the levels will be exclusively for Metro rail.
