The Hyderabad Metro Rail will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao on November 28 and will become the first metro in the country to commission the longest stretch from day one.
The 30-kilometre stretch from Miyapur to Nagole will be open for public use from November 29.
Urban Development Minister K. T. Rama Rao told reporters after a ride in metro along with some ministers, MPs, other public representatives and media persons on Saturday that the formal inauguration will take place at 2.15 p.m on Tuesday.
Modi along with Rao will travel by metro from Miyapur to Kukatpally, a distance of about one kilometre and back. Initially the services will operated be between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. but will be be extended from 5.30 a.m. to 11 p.m. depending on the traffic demand.
Rao, son of Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao, described it as the most innovative project and the largest metro rail project in the world Public Private Partnership (PPP) model.
He described construction major L&T as a valued partner who did exceptionally well to give final shape to the project L&T Metro Rail Hyderabad Limited (LTMRHL) has procured all 57 trains for the project from Hyundai Rotem.
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To start with, each train will be operated with 3 coaches with 330 passenger capacity in each coach. Depending on the traffic, the coaches will be increased to 6.
L&T will announce the metro fares later Saturday or on Sunday. "The fares will be competitive with other metros in the country and as per the concession agreement," he said.
The minister the project was not only an engineering marvel but was also a financial innovation. A total of 18 million square feet of commercial and real estate space will be developed near metro stations over next 15 to 20 years to make the project financial viable.
The advertisement revenue will also be leveraged. The 30-kilometre stretch has 24 stations. Rama Rao said the concourse level of the station can be used by all people for crossing the road.
He said skywalks will be also be built connecting the stations directly to commercial complexes, stadiums and offices. One such skywalk is proposed Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium at Uppal.
Rama Rao also launched a smart card for travel by metro and said that in coming days, it can be used for travel by different modes of transport like bus, taxi and autorickshaws.
Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) will operate feeder services to metro stations to provide end-to-end connectivity.
TSwarai, a mobile app, will be also be launched providing integrated transport solution to the people by metro, bus, taxi and other modes. Rama Rao sought cooperation of people in keeping metro clean and maintaining it.
The 72-km elevated metro project was taken up in 2012 at a cost of Rs 14,132 crore. While the construction period for the elevated metro ended in July this year, it could not be completed due to various reasons and the developer was granted 17 month extension.
The entire project, barring 5-kilometre stretch in the Old City and about 1 kilometre stretch between Hitec city and Raidurg, is now likely to completed by the end of 2018.
--IANS
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