The Multi-Modal Transit Services (MMTS) received a boost with the government and the Railway Board set to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the formation of a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) to implement and run the project.
The SPV formation will help quicken the much delayed phase two of the project connecting the city’s suburbs and the International Airport at Shamshabad.
The government will have 51 per cent share and the RB 49 per cent in it with the former already committing to fund two-thirds of the estimated project cost of more than Rs.650 crore.
Detailed survey
The Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL) has been entrusted with the job of taking up the works and it is already undertaking a detailed survey of the available railway lines, land required for the new lines, stations and workshops, road crossings, etc., across the eight routes extending to more than 100 kilometres.
Top government officials led by Principal Secretaries Lakshmi Parthasarathy, S.P. Singh and railway officials, including those from RVNL, held a meeting on Wednesday to discuss the modalities of the SPV.
It took seven years for the RB to clear the SPV as a draft proposal was floated by the government way back in 2005 at an initial cost of Rs.325 crore.
SPV role cut out
The SPV objective is to make the project financially viable as it will look into the commercial exploitation of the station and lands, while the railways will be operating the trains. It will be headed by a chairman to be nominated from the government side, while the managing director will be from the railways for operations and maintenance and there will be a board of directors drawn from both sides, officials said.
Two phases
Current phase one operations too will be brought under the agency’s umbrella once it is formed. Phase two works are proposed to be taken up in two phases: Falaknuma-Umadanagar-Airport (20 km): new line from Umdanagar to airport and doubling of line from Falaknuma-Umdanagar with electrification; Telapur-Patancheru (9 km): track restoration and electrification; Secunderabad-Bolarum (14 km): electrification and remodelling of stations, Sanatnagar-Moula Ali (21 km): doubling and electrification.
Second stage Moula Ali-Malkajgiri-Sitaphalmandi (10 km): doubling and electrification, Bolarum-Medchal (14 km): doubling and electrification & Moula Ali-Ghatkesar (14 km): quadrupling and electrification.
