Medchal Hyderabad Metro Rail to have a direct link to Airport Metro: N V S Reddy

Hyderabad: The Telangana State government is gearing up to launch new technological innovations in the second phase of the Hyderabad Metro Rail project in Medchal and Shamirpet corridor, said Hyderabad Metro Rail managing director NVS Reddy.

Technical experts and officials started the exercise of creating new metro lines for the comfortable travel of the people of Hyderabad.

In the second phase, an alignment will establish a 60-km end-to-end Metro corridor linking Medchal, JBS, MGBS, Chandrayangutta, and the airport.

Complexities of the JBS-Shamirpet metro corridor identified

Reddy, accompanied by senior engineers and technical advisors, conducted a field-level inspection on Sunday to resolve technical challenges in the JBS-Shamirpet (22 km) proposed metro corridor alignments. Some of the complexities faced in terms of engineering in the establishment of these two corridors have been identified.

Reddy said that due to the steep curvature of the road from Paradise to Bowenpally along the airport boundary and the insistence of Airport authorities, HMDA is taking its elevated corridor’s alignment below the runway of Begumpet airport (Tadbund/Bowenpally side) for about 600 metres through a tunnel.

However, dropping the Metro corridor which will be at a good height at double elevation level over the planned HMDA elevated corridor down into a tunnel and again raising it to double elevated level after the end of the tunnel would pose several engineering complications for Metro Rail construction, he added.

Connections between Paradise-Medchal and JBS-Shamirpet Metro corridors discussed

To resolve this complication and to develop a world-class integrated Metro rail hub at JBS, the chief minister asked HAML MD to examine the feasibility of combining Paradise-Medchal and JBS-Shamirpet Metro corridors initially and split it into two corridors of Medchal and Shamirpet thereafter.

Keeping the suggestion of CM A Revanth Reddy in mind, the MD and his team walked on different roads of the Cantonment area to find the best possible Metro rail alignment.

These roads included JBS-Secunderabad club road, Staff road (Picket KV school road), Mudfort road, Tivoli junction road, Diamond point junction-Centre point junction-Hasmathpet junction-Bowenpally (Sarojini Pulla Reddy bungalow) road; Tadbund-Anjaneya Swamy temple road, Tadbund junction-Airport office, Bowenpally check-post road etc.

Alternative roads

During the inspection, Reddy gave the following directives to his team about the pros and cons of all the alternative roads that shall be evaluated to avoid steep curves, the need to take the alignment underground below the airport and to minimise acquisition of private properties.

The alignment shall cater to as many residential colonies as possible and tentative station locations and availability of vacant State Government/Defence lands in their vicinity to be identified for better parking and other passenger facilities.

During the inspection, it is found advantageous to combine both the Metro corridors in the beginning at JBS. This way, the need to take the Metro alignment through a tunnel below the airport and its consequent engineering complications can be avoided; and the alignment can be joined at the NH junction at the end of Bowenpally (adjacent to Sarojini Pulla Reddy bungalow) road. Thereafter, metro pillars and viaducts can be constructed on the already widened service road median without disturbing the NH flyovers which are under construction.

Direct link for Medchal corridor to Airport metro corridor

This will also have the advantage of providing a direct link for the Medchal corridor with the airport corridor, establishing an end-to-end 60 km Metro corridor of Medchal-JBS-MGBS-Chandrayangutta-Airport link.

Regarding the JBS-Shamirpet Metro alignment, it is feasible to straight away extend it from the existing first Metro pillar near Secunderabad Club as a double elevated structure over the proposed HMDA elevated corridor on Karimnagar Highway which is being widened by HMDA.

The MD also indicated that plans will be prepared to develop JBS as a mega Metro hub to cater to the commuting and other needs of residents of Secunderabad and northern parts of the city, apart from those who are coming from northern Telangana districts as advised by the CM, by pooling in about 30 acres of land belonging to the State Government and the Defence authorities in the vicinity of JBS.

Chief Project Manager B Anand Mohan, general managers BN Rajeshwar, M Vishnu Vardhan Reddy, A Balakrishna, Dy CE (Railways) JN Gupta and other senior officers also participated in the inspection.