Rail network planned along RRR to boost Telangana peri-urban, rural economies: HMDA chief Sarfaraz

Hyderabad: The Telangana State government on Tuesday announced that a Regional Ring Rail network will be developed alongside the upcoming Regional Ring Road (RRR).

“This seamless road-rail spine will disperse growth beyond Hyderabad, stimulate peri-urban and rural economies and ensure that prosperity is shared across the State,” said HMDA Commissioner Sarfaraz Ahmad, IAS.

He was speaking at the Telangana Rising Global Summit 2025, where the government outlined massive investments in highways, expressways, ring roads and integrated rail-road networks to drive industrial expansion and balanced regional growth.

During day 2 of the summit, the Telangana government unveiled a comprehensive transport and connectivity master plan aimed at transforming the State into a $3 trillion economy by 2047.

‘Telangana is rising, not just growing’: R&B Minister

Speaking at the session on ‘Connected Telangana: Integrated Transport & Urban-Rural Connectivity,’ Roads & Buildings Minister Komatireddy Venkat Reddy said the State is moving with a clear mandate to eliminate the urban-rural divide through uninterrupted road connectivity.

He announced that all municipal and district headquarters will be connected to Hyderabad through double-lane roads, ensuring seamless movement of people, goods and investments.

“Telangana is not just growing. Telangana is rising,” the Minister declared.

NH-65 to become an 8-lane corridor, Rs 36,000 crore for RRR

As part of the highway expansion drive:

- NH-65 will be upgraded into an eight-lane corridor connecting Hyderabad and Vijayawada.

- A massive Rs 36,000 crore investment has been sanctioned for the Regional Ring Road (RRR).

- The State will spend Rs 70,000 crore on greenfield express highways.

- 11,334 road works have been awarded, with 399 projects already underway.

The Minister said the road expansion programme would decentralise industrial activity and accelerate economic growth in hinterland districts.

Every citizen will have access to a two-lane road within 20 km

Special Chief Secretary, Roads & Buildings, Vikas Raj, IAS, presented the State’s micro-level connectivity strategy. He said the government is working to reduce the road grid size from 50 km to 30–35 km.

“Our target is that every citizen, even from the smallest habitation, should reach a two-lane R&B road within a maximum of 20 km,” he said.

He added that Telangana is shifting to a data-driven and system-based road maintenance policy, ending the traditional year-to-year, ad-hoc budgeting approach.

Hyderabad’s 2047 growth anchored on three master plans

HMDA Commissioner Sarfaraz Ahmad, IAS, said Hyderabad’s long-term mobility and urban development will be guided by three core strategic documents:

- Economic Development Plan

- Comprehensive Mobility Plan

- Blue-Green Master Plan

“These plans together define how Hyderabad will grow, move and sustain itself till 2047,” he said.

Regional Ring Rail to run along RRR

In a major announcement, Sarfaraz Ahmad revealed that the upcoming Regional Ring Road will be developed alongside a Regional Ring Rail network, creating a high-capacity, multi-modal transport backbone.

Radial corridors linking the Outer Ring Road (ORR) and the RRR will become integrated mobility corridors, with dedicated rail alignments embedded within road infrastructure, he said.