With only two days left before Prime Minister Narendra Modi formally launches the first phase of Hyderabad Metro Rail, State minister for urban development K Taraka Rama Rao on Saturday had a ride on the Metro train from Ngole to Mettuguda to ensure that everything was perfectly in place.
Taraka Rama Rao was accompanied by his many other Cabinet colleagues and elected representatives including Jagdish Reddy, P Mahinder Reddy, members of Parliament Bandaru Dattatreya and Malla Reddy and city Mayor Bontu Rammohan and legislative council chairman Swamy Goud.
Officials of Hyderabad Metro Rail ltd and the l&T company explained various special features of the state-of-the-art Metro Rail system including how all the trains on the Metro lines will be remotely controlled from the communication and command centre at Uppal.
Prime Minister Modi was scheduled to inaugurate the Metro project at 2:15 pm on Tuesday at Miyapur, the biggest of the 24 stations on the 30 kms stretch from Nagole to Hi-tech city.
“Hyderabad Metro will create a record from the day one as it will be first time that 30 kms long stretch will become operational at the very first step”, KTR told the media after launching the TSavari app which will provide all the details of the available transport facilities in the city including the Metro, the city buses of State Road Transport Corporation and the local trains.
While Prime Minister Modi, State Governor ESl Narasimhan, the Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao and other VIPs will have a brief ride from Miyapur to Kukatpally and back on Tuesday, the service will be thrown open to the general public from next day.
Initially, the Metro train will start running from 6 am and will continue till midnight with each train having three coaches with a capacity of carrying 1,000 passengers. later it will be doubled to six coaches, KTR said.
The chart of fare of Metro trains was expected to be announced later on Saturday evening or on Sunday. There were indications that the Metro will have a minimum fare of Rs 12 and maximum fare of Rs 45.
“We will have fares which will be affordable for the common man”, he said. l&T, which has developed the project and will also operate it has demanded that the minimum fare should be Rs 15 and maximum Rs 55 but the State Government was keen to stick to the initial agreement and have a minimum fare of Rs 10 on the lines of Bengaluru and Delhi.
KTR expressed confidence that the Metro project will be completed and will fully become operational on all the three corridors by the end of 2018.