Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao will launch the last section of the first phase of Hyderabad Metro Rail project by commissioning the near 11-km Jubilee Bus Station (JBS) to Mahatma Gandhi Bus Station (MGBS), Imlibun, stretch on Friday at 4 p.m.
HMR Managing Director N.V.S. Reddy informed on Tuesday that the Chief Minister will be flagging off the metro train service for commercial operations at the JBS. He also pointed out that once this ‘Green Line’, the second corridor of the metro project is commissioned, it will be the second largest in the country after Delhi, with 69 km across three corridors.
Corridor One or the Red Line - L.B. Nagar to Miyapur is 29 km and Corridor Three or the Blue Line from Nagole to Raidurg too is about 29 km. Both these stretches were opened in stages in the course of the last two years after Prime Minister Narendra Modi officially launched the inaugural route of Nagole-Ameerpet-Miyapur of 30 km in November 2017.
Mr. Reddy also stated that the Hyderabad project is the world’s largest metro project in the Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode and the number of passengers using the facility daily has crossed the 4 lakh mark and with the second corridor opening for public, the number is sure to rise further. “We are expecting a good response for this route too,” he said.
The Chief Minister is expected to take the ride along the route on the inaugural run, but whether there will be a public meeting/reception at either of the end points is not yet finalised. The Commissioner of Metro Rail Safety, J.K. Garg, has given the safety certification allowing the metro rail authorities to commence operations on January 12 following a couple of months of trial runs.
JBS to MGBS will have nine stations — JBS-Parade Grounds; Secunderabad West; Gandhi Hospital; Musheerabad; RTC X Roads; Chikkadapally; Narayanaguda; Sultan Bazar and MGBS. Since the route halts at MGBS, L&T Metro Rail Hyderabad (L&TMRH) has built a 600-metre reversal extending the overhead viaduct beyond the terminal station for allowing the trains to move forward and return on the alternate platform for the return journey.
