The first Metro train is expected to arrive in the city by April-end or early May and the trial runs are likely to be done initially inside the Uppal depot, announced L&T Metro Rail Hyderabad (L&TMRH) Chief Executive and Managing Director V.B. Gadgil on Tuesday.
Track work of about seven kilometres or 80 per cent has been completed in the Uppal depot while track work is also going on at a rapid pace atop the viaduct between Nagole and Mettuguda with 80 per cent work completed on the 8-km stretch.
Construction of stations too is in progress on the stretch as also traction lines. Once completed, the trial runs of the Metro train will also be done on this stage which will also be the first one to become operational from among the three corridor 72-km metro line being built under the public, private partnership mode.
Addressing a press conference at the 64-acre Qutbullapur pre-cast yard inside the HMT campus, flanked by his Project Director M.P. Naidu and Hyderabad Metro Rail Managing Director N.V.S. Reddy, Mr. Gadgil also stated that a record three kilometre of viaduct was built last month. Qutbullapur pre-cast yard and the 72-acre Uppal pre-cast card were the largest such yards in the country. A total of 28,000 pre-cast segments weighing nearly 40 tonnes each plus spans for the unique single pier cantilever stations overhead across the three corridors will be taken up in these sites, said Mr. Reddy.
The HMR MD said the city was witnessing an engineering marvel and “history in the making” . He recalled the efforts made to obtain leased lands for the pre-cast yards and pointed out that L&TMRH was maintaining the highest quality and safety standards. L&TMRH PD Mr. Naidu said about Rs. 40 crore was spent to develop the site complete with CCTVs and 1,500 workers will be working round the clock. Pre-cast technique helps in precision, quality control and also avoids major traffic congestions as most work on the site involves mounting the pre-cast segments/spans during nights.
