Metro rail travel will be available from next week. That’s for sure. However, Hyderabad Metro Rail authorities are not yet ready or clear about ‘sufficient parking’ space at each of the 24 stationsor last mile connectivity to and fro the stations.
The stretch from Nagole to Miyapur will connect two ends of the twin cities with two super sized depots of 100 acres or more. There will be ample parking space at these two ends for both four-wheelers and two-wheelers.
Metro rail authorities had earmarked parking space at 12 stations including the two depots at: Uppal, Parade Grounds, Paradise, Rasoolpura, Begumpet, Ameerpet, Bharatnagar, Balanagar and Kukatpally as per their plan documents in the 30-km inaugural run.
“It will take at least a year to have parking complexes in place and we are planning to have such spaces in places in every other station considering there is one for every 1/1.5 km to provide ample space,” explain senior metro officials, declining to be named.
World over metro rail projects are meant to reduce movement of private vehicles and have high parking fees to avoid rush at the stations causing disruption to the traffic. “There is a section which wants to have more parking sites and we are scouting for more land though it goes against the essence of the project,” they claim.
With TSRTC announcing services connecting stations to the adjacent offices/colonies, there will be some relief though the electric buses/autos connectivity is still some way off. One can expect a lot of activity from private vehicles near the stations for some months.
