Hyderabad: Transit-oriented development via Metro
Hyderabad: The Managing Director of Hyderabad Metro Rail, Hyderabad’s elevated metro rail project can not be compared to any other metro projects. It would play a candid role in rejuvenating the cities urban areas and should be described as Transit+. The project aiming to de-congest three dense corridors through a 72 kilometer elevated rail, is now being constructed.
The reason behind calling the metro rail project as ‘Transit +’ is the intricate integration of the Metro Rail with the bus depots, main rail stations, Multi Modal Transport System (MMTS) along with its stations and dedicated feeder buses which would help in reducing traffic congestion as well as the pollution levels within the city.
The Metro project’s social agenda comprises of establishing bike stations, designing sidewalks and sky-walks; setting up quality public spaces adjoining Metro stations to promote family values in conjunction with providing recreation area for poor people.
In fact, the project has garnered enough importance from people at the highest level as well as the other levels of the bureaucratic hierarchy that landmark buildings situated on the Begumpet main road have been served notices of demolition to make way for the Hyderabad Metro Rail project by Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC). Recently, the GHMC served notices to Lifestyle, White House and Varun Motors, which are considered as landmark buildings and are situated on either ends of the Begumpet flyover.
Even though the demolitions would be partially done, it would suffice in changing the contours of the city. As per the notice, of the three blocks which comprises the White House, at the least half of the first block adjoining the road would be demolished. Similarly, the open space which belongs to Lifestyle building would be acquired by GHMC for the metro rail project leaving little space for setback and passage. In the case of Varun Motors, most of the structure would be demolished. Apart from these buildings, the GHMC has served the land acquisition notice to Country Club as well.
The owners of White House and Lifestyle have argued that their land is being acquired in an unfair manner in order to save the chief minister’s camp office building from demolition. Due to this the demolition of these buildings have not been moving smoothly, as the entire propaganda has been controversial. As per experts who have been studying the metro rail alignment plan, the curvature given to the project at Begumpet is conspicuously sharp and not in line with the set standards.
Hyderabad Metro Rail, currently under construction is being implemented entirely on PPP mode, with the state government holding a minority equity stake. The Phase I of the project includes three lines covering a distance of around 71 kilometers. The metro rail stretches between Nagole and Mettuguda (8 kilometers) and between Miyapur and S. R. Nagar (12 kilometers) are targeted to be operational by March 2015. The Phase II which is expected to start in 2013 includes around 80 kilometers.
Work at the crossroads of Uppal and the junction of Habsiguda have already been progressing at a decent rate. As per the managing director of HMR, an attempt to work on five to eight road junctions at crossovers across the three metro corridors in a single go would be undertaken after the supervising engineers of HMR and concessionaire L&T Metro Rail Hyderabad (L&TMRH) gain expertise from the two spans of Uppal crossroad and the junction of Habsiguda.
Ongoing work of constructing piers continues at a frenetic pace, along the stretch from Rasoolpura to Begumpet which is amongst the key stretches on the arterial road connecting IT hubs in the western part of Hyderabad with the eastern residential locations.
Longer obligatory spans involving ‘in-situ’ construction (commonly known as ‘on the spot construction’) is required for twenty-eight junctions of the eighty junctions where, the elevated track up above the railway over-bridge will be constructed across. The herculean task involves building eighty flyovers over and across busy traffic junctions without causing any disruption to the movement of traffic in the already saturated junctions.
The city of Hyderabad is amongst the prominent destinations for IT within India. Hyderabad city took the initial steps into the IT industry back in 2004, and over the period of the last fifteen years the city has borne witness to numerous changes in its skyline. Hyderabad’s realty market which had been witnessing a prolonged slump is in a gradual phase of recovery. Ready-to-move inventory is finding takers and an improved off-take in residential stock was observed during the financial year of 2012. The IT/ITES corridor in the western and north-western regions of the city have been showing signs of recovery. Impelled and actuated by a proactive government and an efficient city planning, Hyderabad has absorbed prodigious development in the sector of real estate, with International, national as well as local developers investing in the city. Hyderabad’s ambitious Metro Rail Project is progressing at a rapid pace. The peripheral areas along the northern and eastern corridor along with other micro markets are witnessing appreciation as well. With the advent of the soon to be launched Metro and other infrastructural developments, the realty market of Hyderabad is generally tightening up. Realty development along the Metro Rail corridors I and III is being undertaken simultaneously with construction of the elevated rail line and the erection of pillars.
Moreover, two colossal commercial complexes are going to be established at Hi-tech City and Panjagutta along the Metro Rail corridors within the first phase. These two mega complexes would be directly connected to the stations at Hi-tech City and Panjagutta via sky-walks in order to reduce traffic congestion and sustain a smooth and gradual flow of traffic on these two busy stretches.
Hyderabad Metro Rail project has been selected as one amongst the top 100 strategic global infrastructure projects to be showcased at the forthcoming Global Infrastructure Leadership Forum being held in New York during February–March, 2013. The Metro project once completed would inherently bridge the gap between the central city areas with the suburbs of the city. This in turn would lead to people preferring the affordable sub urban areas, there by significantly increasing the prices of real estate of these regions. It would also help in de-congestion of the main city areas.
The total length of the first-phase after final revision is 71 km.
Red Line: Miyapur – L B Nagar – Route Length – 29.87 kilometers
Number of Stations (All elevated) – 27
Link to other Corridors:
At Ameerpet connecting corridors 1 and 2
At Mahatma Gandhi Bus Station connecting corridors 1 and 3
01. Miyapur
02. JNTU College
03. KPHB Colony
04. Kukatpally
05. Balnagar
06. Moosapet
07. Bharatnagar
08. Erragadda Road
09. ESI Hospital
10. S.R.Nagar
11. Ameerpet
12. Punjagutta
13. Erra Manzil
14. Khairatabad
15. Lakdi-ka-pul
16. Assembly
17. Nampally
18. Gandhi Bhavan
19. Medical College
20. MG Bus Stand
21. Malakapet
22. New Market
23. Musarambagh
24. Dilsukhnagar
25. Chaitanyapuri
26. Victory Memorial
27. L.B.Nagar
Blue Line: Nagole – Shilparamam – Route Length – 26.51 km
Number of Stations (All elevated) – 23
Link to other Corridors
At Ameerpet – Connecting Corridors – 3 and 1
At Parade Grounds – Connecting Corridors – 3 and 2
01. Nagole
02. Uppal
03. Survey Of India
04. NGRI
05. Habsiguda
06. Tarnaka
07. Mettuguda
08. Secunderabad
09. Parade Ground
10. Paradise
11. Rasoolpura
12. Prakash Nagar
13. Begumpet
14. Ameerpet
15. Madhura Nagar
16. Yusufguda
17. Jubilee Hills Road
18 Jubilee Hills Checkpost
19. Peddamma Temple
20. Madhapur PS
21. Durgam Cheruvu
22. Hitech City
23. Shilparamam
Green Line: JBS – Falaknuma – Route Length – 14.78 kilometers
Number of Stations (All elevated) – 16
Link to other Corridors :
At Parade Grounds – Connecting Corridors 2 and 3
At Mahatma Gandhi Bus Station – Connecting Corridors 1 and 2
01. Jubilee Bus Stand 0.000 0.000
02. Parade Ground 0.700 0.700
03. Secunderabad 1.000 1.700
04. MG Hospital 1.246 2.946
05. Musheerabad 0.641 3.587
06. R.T.C. Cross Roads 1.330 4.917
07. Chikkadapalli 0.653 5.570
08. Narayanguda 1.010 6.580
09. Sultan Bazar 0.779 7.359
10. MG Bus Station 0.826 8.185
11. Salarjung Museum 1.390 9.575
12. Charminar 1.540 11.115
13. Shalibanda 0.717 11.832
14. Shamsherganj 0.951 12.783
15. Jangammet 0.926 13.709
16. Falaknuma 0.474 14.183
Six Stage Construction Schedule
|
Stage |
Target Section |
Distance (in km) |
Line |
Expected Completion date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stage1 | Nagole to Mettuguda | 8 | Line III | March 2015 |
| Stage2 | Miyapur to sr nagar | 11 | Line I | August 15,2015 |
| Stage3 | Mettuguda to begum pet | 10 | Line III | November 14, 2015 |
| Stage4 | begum pet to Shilparamam | 9.51 | Line III | August 15, 2016 |
| Stage5 | sr nagar to LB Nagar | 17.87 | Line I | August 15, 2016 |
| Stage6 | JBS to Falaknuma | 14.78 | Line II | January 1,2017 |
