HYDERABAD: Having crossed innumerable hurdles the Hyderabad Metro Rail is set to become a reality when PM Modi will inaugurate the 30-km stretch from Nagole to Miyapur. The track taken to this destination, however, wasn’t a high-speed corridor. There were several hurdles. The project cleared 190 of the whopping 200 legal hurdles on its path.
This includes religious and sensitive structures on the train route, acquisition of land and properties, hundreds of agitations by those affected and those with vested interests, and even a termination of contract with Maytas Metro Limited.
The Hyderabad Metro Rail Limited (HMRL) was formed in 2007. The State government reached a deal with Maytas Infra, while Navbharat Ventures, IL&FS and Ital Thai became consortia partners on September 19, 2008. The agreement was cancelled on July 7, 2009 after Maytas’ parent company —Satyam Computers—got embroiled in a major financial scam. The project was revived after L&T entered the scene as partnering firm. Works were inaugurated on November 25, 2012.
Still, it was not a smooth journey. There were about two dozen religious structures on the project’s route in the city. It took intense lobbying and negotiation to successfully shift them, while keeping religious leaders on board. So was the case with statues of local and national leaders. It took patience, perseverance and efforts of successive governments to make clear these hurdles and avoid derailments.
Designed for future
The Metro is being projected not as a mere mass transportation system, but as an urban redesign project capable of catapulting Hyderabad into a global city, a sought after destination to work and live.
The project covers 72 km in three corridors. Foundation pillars have been laid across the entire stretch except for a few kilometres of viaduct spans. According to sources, HMR is one of the biggest projects in India to be taken up in the Public Private Partnership mode, incurring an expenditure of `15,000 crore. Advocates of Metro as public transportation system, across the world, argue that its relatively easier on the environment as it reduces noise and air pollution, and provides an incentive for people to escape traffic and stress.
Experts say several advanced technologies and practices have been adopted in every aspect of the project—stations, station planning, rolling stock, track work, depots, AFC, power supply, traction and SCADA system, signalling and train control system, and telecom system.
The speed of the proposed rail system will be in accordance with international standards—maximum speed of 80km/hr and average of 34 km/hr. The average time taken to travel from Miyapur to LB Nagar (29 km) by Metro will be 45 minutes, against 1 hour 44 minutes by road. The same for the 22km stretch between Jubilee Bus Station and Falaknuma would be 22 minutes against 1 hour 10 minutes by road. Between Nagole and Shilparamam (28 km) it would be 39 minutes against 1 hour 26 minutes by road.
Connecting with existing transport systems
A considerable amount of time, effort and resources have been invested in station architecture. Different stations will reflect local architecture of different areas, say sources. Activists who have vetted the stations, lifts and parking areas say they are accessible for persons with disabilities.
More importantly, these stations will have smart-card based automatic ticketing systems and will be connected to bus routes. In short, it will severe as an integrated transport network. For instance, major bus stops of Miyapur, MGBS, Koti, Dilsukhnagar, Charminar and Jubilee Bus Station would be linked to Metro stations. Also, existing rail terminals at Secunderabad, Begumpet and Nampally will get linked with MMTS services at Bharatnagar, Begumpet, Khairatabad, Malakpet and Falaknuma. The government is also mulling a feeder bus service system to be introduced in a phased manner, that will connect residential areas and Metro stations.
Poor response to smart cards
Only 2,000 cards were sold at Nagole, Tarnaka, Prakash Nagar and Sanjeeva Reddy Nagar
In Prakash Nagar, about 300 cards were sold in the entire day, about 500 cards were sold in Tarnaka. At Nagole and Sanjeeva Reddy Nagar more than 700 cards were sold per station
Smart cards can be bought for `200 each, with `100 being the initial top-up amount for travel and `100 the security deposit. Of the deposit, `80 will be refunded on return of the card
While lack of publicity is observed to be the reason for the poor turnout of buyers, denizens are in a wait-and-watch mode before committing to the smart cards
“People want to buy the tokens first, experience the ride and then buy smart cards,” claimed an official
For Prakash who travels from KPHB to Ameerpet, the cost of travelling by city bus is `17 but when it comes to metro rail, the fare is almost double at `35
“For middle-class families, metro rail is a costly affair. Apart from metro ticket, I need to spend on autorickshaw to get back from station. That takes my expenditure on `120 a day,” he explained
However, other smart card holders observed that ease of travel was what they were looking for. “I am looking to avoid busy road traffic,” said Loyola Francis, an NRI who purchased the card
