Trial-run ahead of the opening of Ameerpet-LB Nagar stretch | Vinay madappu
HYDERABAD: Finally, the Ameerpet-LB Nagar stretch of Corridor-I covering 16 km and 17 metro stations is set to be officially inaugurated on Monday with Governor ESL Narasimhan flagging off the metro rail at Ameerpet metro station at 12 noon.With the opening of the stretch, there is going to be an increase in Metro Rail ridership and patronage by the citizens of Hyderabad.
According to official statistics, till recently, around two crore passengers have travelled using the Metro System since the operations have begun. Hyderabad Metro Rail is now set to become the transportation lifeline for Hyderabadis.
READ| Hyderabad metro: No helpers, first-time riders to have hard time?
The 30 km stretch between Miyapur-Ameerpet and Ameerpet-Nagole is already operational and the launch of Ameerpet-LB Nagar stretch takes the total distance covered by Metro System to 46 km, making it the second largest in India, behind Delhi Metro Rail. Meanwhile, the officials said the ticket prices remain the same with commuters charged a minimum of `10 for a 2-4 km ride and a maximum of `60 for a travel above 26 km. The frequency of trains would be of five minutes to begin with.
The entire 29 km Corridor-I from Miyapur to L B Nagar will be made operational a couple of hours after the flag off by the Governor.
It will take about 52 minutes to cover Miyapur to L B Nagar, which generally takes about two hours if one travels by road. It would provide major relief to the commuters travelling from Ameerpet to L B Nagar which is one of the busiest routes in the city.
Meanwhile, MGBS Interchange Metro Rail station is one of the biggest Metro Rail stations in Asia. It connects corridor-I (Miyapur-LB Nagar) and corridor-II (JBS-Falaknuma).While Corridor-I station is at lower level (first and second floor), corridor-II station is at the upper level (third and fourth floor). It is a huge station specially designed with 58 main pillars and six grids.
“The strength requirement of the main pillars of this gigantic station was so high that the steel reinforcement (rods) had to be made extremely dense and special techniques had to be used to pump specially reinforced cement concrete (RCC) into them during construction,” HMRL Managing Director, NVS Reddy said. The station has a length of 140 m (460 feet) and width of 45 m (150 feet) and comprises of two wings -- one arm catering to MGBS bus depot and the other to Chaderghat area across Musi river.
“Two big skywalks connect all the platforms of MGBS bus station on one side and the second skywalk connects Chaderghat area. Chaderghat area skywalk is a long one with a length of 600 ft. With a width of 20 ft, the skywalks have been built very wide keeping in mind the possibility of traffic increasing in the coming years,” NVS Reddy said.
The sides of MGBS and Chaderghat are being beautified, with a classic combination of cobble stones, Tandur and Shahbad stones to merge with the “Heritage Precinct” being developed by HMRL in the 5 km stretch between Assembly station and MGBS station via Nampally, MJ Market, Jambagh, Osmania Medical College (OMC) and Ranghmahal areas.
MGBS to be city’s pride
MGBS Interchange Metro Rail station is one of the biggest metro stations in Asia. It connects corridor-I (Miyapur- LB Nagar) and corridor-II (JBS-Falaknuma). While corridor-I station is at the lower level (first and second floor), corridor-II station is at the upper level (third and fourth floor). It is a huge station specially designed with 58 main pillars and six grids
