All Set For Inauguration Of Hyderabad Metro Rail

The much-awaited Hyderabad Metro Rail, that underwent many unexpected hiccups and delays, is now all set to commence operations, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagging it off on Tuesday.

The first phase of the 30 km-long metro rail project, between Miyapur and Nagole, will be launched by the Prime Minister on Tuesday. The state administration and the HMR have made all necessary arrangements for a grand inauguration. Modi will be arriving by a special flight at the Begumpet airport in the afternoon. From the airport, he will helihop to Miyapur to inaugurate the metro by first unveiling the pylon and a plaque, and then flagging off the first train.

He will then travel in it from Miyapur to Kukatpally, a distance of 6 km, and return, along with Governor E S L Narasimhan, Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao and others.

All necessary security arrangements have been put into place in connection with the PM's arrival. The metro stations and surrounding areas along with Miyapur-Kukatpally route have been thoroughly sanitized and placed under round-the-clock vigil.

While the inauguration will be on Tuesday, the commercial operations of the metro will begin only on Wednesday. The trains will initially run from 6 am to 10:30 pm, and the timings will be enhanced to 5:30 am to 11 pm if the demand necessitates it. Also, to start with each train will run with three coaches (and each coach will carry 330 passengers), and the number of coaches will later be increased to six if the traffic and demand warrant that.

The minimum fare has been fixed at Rs 10 for a distance of up to two km, and the maximum at Rs 60 for distances over 26 km.

As many as 546 security personnel from private agencies will be monitoring things in the stations between Miyapur and Nagole. They will be under the supervision of three police officers per station in each shift.

It is pertinent to note that no other rapid transit metro system in India kicked off covering such a long distance (30 km) in the first phase. Also, the Hyderabad Metro Rail project is the largest in the world under the Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode.