HYDERABAD: In a good omen for residents waiting for the extension of Metro rail coverage in the city, the State government is set to discuss the expansion of Metro rail lines in the upcoming Cabinet meeting.
The State government has been planning to extend the existing 70 km of Metro rail in Hyderabad to 250 km. As a part of this plan, tenders have been invited for the Hyderabad Airport Metro Project with a budget of Rs 5,688 crore. This new extension will cover a distance of 31 km, connecting Raidurg to the terminal at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA), Shamshabad.
Addressing the importance of sustainable mobility and shared mobility solutions, Municipal Administration & Urban Development (MA&UD) Minister KT Rama Rao took to Twitter on Tuesday to announce that the extension of Metro lines would be a key subject for discussion in the upcoming Cabinet meeting.
“We will be taking up extension of Metro lines as a priority subject in the next Cabinet meeting. Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao has already asked my department to prepare proposals towards this. Sustainable mobility and shared mobility are the only solutions to maintain a balance between growth and infrastructure needed (sic),” he tweeted.
This response came after Bengaluru-based civic activist Srinivas Alavilli raised the issue of traffic snarls reported on Monday. “Not too late to fix this. If any city can get out of this mess, that’s Hyderabad with a good road network, ORR, Metro, train and political will. Need thousands of buses at low fares and increased frequency of Metro & MMTS trains. I appeal to Minister Rama Rao to seriously consider sustainable mobility (sic).”