All decks have been cleared for the Hyderabad Metro Rail to roll soon, as the Commissioner of Metro Rail Safety (CMRS) authorised the Mettuguda to SR Nagarline, and informed the L&T Metro Rail Hyderabad Limited (L&TMRHL).
“This authorisation will enable us to operate the Metro trains from Nagole to Miyapur via Ameerpet Interchange Metro Station seamlessly. CMRS approval for the Stage 1 – Nagole to Mettuguda and Stage 2 – Miyapur to SR Nagar have already been authorised for commissioning. This is a great moment for team LTMRHL and its partners, who have worked incessantly to make this happen,” Shivanand Nimbargi, MD & CEO, LTMRHL said in a statement.
The Deccan Chronicle reported that the clearance was important for starting commercial operations as well as getting Prime Minister Narendra Modi to inaugurate it on November 28, as the Prime Minister’s Office had reportedly said that the safety clearance had to be obtained, before his visit.
The 30-km stretch of the Metro Rail from Nagole to Miyapur, is expected to be ready before the Global Entrepreneurship Summit being hosted in the city from November 28 to 30.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who will be attending the summit, has been invited to inaugurate the HMR.
Billed as the world's biggest metro rail project in the Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode, it was taken up in 2012 at a cost of Rs 14,132 crore.
The original construction period for the 71.16 km elevated metro ended in July this year but the project could not be completed due to various reasons and the developer was granted 17-month extension.
Last week, the HMRL said that it has provided facilities that would aid the differently-abled, keeping in mind the challenges that disabled persons face while navigating in an urban space.
“We have considered the needs of the disabled right from the design stage itself at the ground level, entry/exits, escalators, lifts, fare gates, ticket vending machines, tiling on the platform or the signages for their convenience,” HMR MD NVS Reddy told reporters.
“Wheelchair-bound passengers will not encounter any problem getting into the train as care is being taken in maintaining the gap between the platform and train floor. Even the blind persons will not run the risk of getting their feet accidentally trapped in the opening between the platform and the train door. Once in, the wheelchairs can be locked to a special ‘grab hold’ in the train in the designated wheelchair spaces,” Reddy was quoted as saying.