Hyderabad Metro Rail Opens To Public; Passengers Elated
The Hyderabad Metro Rail opened for public on November 29, with the passengers describing their first-time travel by it as a "convenient, comfortable and awesome experience". The Metro rail started operations between Miyapur and Nagole. This 30-km stretch of the Metro link has a total of 24 stations.
On November 28, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the first phase of the 72-km elevated Hyderabad Metro Rail project at the Miyapur station. Modi also took a ride on the train on its inaugural run. The PM also launched mobile app, T Savari, for the passengers.
The Metro trains would run from 6 am to 10 pm initially, and would be rescheduled to 5:30 am to 11 pm, depending on the traffic and demand, Telangana's Information Technology Minister K T Rama Rao had earlier said.
The L&T Metro Rail (Hyderabad) Ltd has fixed a minimum of Rs 10 for a distance of up to two kms and the highest fare is Rs 60 for a distance of more than 26 kms.
An elderly couple, who took the ride on Wednesday, said they were very excited to travel in the Metro for the first time, and hoped that the cleanliness would be maintained at the stations with cooperation from public.
A woman software professional said, "It is amazing. It will help us in avoiding the traffic snarls and in saving travel time. It is very a convenient mode of transport and a comfortable ride."
A city-based businessman said it normally took him 45 minutes to travel between Miyapur and Ameerpet by other modes of transport; it would barely take 20 minutes now. "It's an awesome experience," he said.
The passengers also congratulated the Hyderabad Metro Rail Ltd (HMRL), the Centre and the state government for providing them with the Metro rail.
"Every project has its own share of challenges and the Hyderabad Metro Rail Limited has had its fair share, but despite all those we have built a world-class, consumer- friendly Metro service that will be a benchmark for other metro rails in the country," L&T Metro Rail (Hyderabad) Ltd's Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Shivanand Nimbargi said.
"This is the biggest public-private partnership (PPP) in the world and we are proud to be a part of such an initiative," he said.
The Hyderabad Metro Rail project was the first 'transit-oriented development' (TOD) project that would exploit the real estate and earn revenue by leasing out commercial and office spaces inside and outside the metro stations across the city, an official statement said.
The rapid transit project has been planned with two components - stations along the elevated Metro rail system and TOD-branded 'Hyderabad Next'.
Depending on the city's appetite, 'Hyderabad Next' will be developed with various assets such as office and retail spaces, hospitality, healthcare, and mixed-use facilities, the statement said.
As many as 546 security personnel from private security service agencies will man the Metro stations on the Miyapur-Nagole stretch, and they will be working under three uniformed police officials per station in each shift.
With inputs from Housing News