Hyderabad Metro opens HiTec City corridor for public today

Hyderabad (Urban Transport News): The Hyderabad Metro Rail Limited (HMRL) today opened the much-awaited metro rail services to HiTec City, the IT hub of Hyderabad. The 10-km stretch between Ameerpet and Hi-Tec City of Hyderabad Metro Rail Corridor-III was inaugurated on Wednesday by Governor of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana ESL Narasimhan at Ameerpet station.

The newly opened corridor will connect nine stations, including Ameerpet, would establish the Metro Rail connectivity to the highly congested IT/ITES service areas of HiTec City, Madhapur, Gachibowli, Jubilee Hills. The regular operations of trains will start from 4 pm on Wednesday. In November 2017, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had inaugurated the 30-km stretch between Miyapur and Nagole out of the 72 km long elevated Hyderabad Metro Rail project, and another 16-km stretch between Ameerpet and L B Nagar was launched in September last year.

Among the nine stations of Ameerpet-HiTec City corridor, Taruni-Madhura Nagar station is being developed as a women managed station and in due course would have shops mostly catering to their needs and that of children. "The Jubilee Hills checkpost station was a single level one unlike other stations which are mainly on two levels. The concourse level was avoided to reduce the already high level of the station due to gradient related problems", said NVS Reddy, Managing Director of Hyderabad Metro Rail Limited.

According to the HMRL officials, the trains would initially run on a five km stretch between Jubilee Hills Check Post and HiTec City station following a traditional railway practice of 'twin single line method,' In this method the two tracks are treated as two separate single lines and trains are operated in both 'up and down' direction on each line separately, till the 'reversal' beyond HiTec City station is completed.

The officials said initially the frequency of trains between Ameerpet-HiTec City will be 9 to 12 minutes as against 6 minutes in other parts of the operational Metro corridors of Hyderabad Metro. Efforts are being made to add additional trains in the stretch to improve frequency and to cater to the huge rush that is expected. The concessionaire of Hyderabad Metro Rail project, L&T Metro Rail (Hyderabad) Limited is building the project across three corridors.