Hyderabad Metro Rail (HMR) passengers expecting more services and better frequency towards the HiTec City may have to wait longer. While L&T Metro Rail Hyderabad (L&TMRH) has completed the ‘reversal’ section beyond the HiTec City metro station and it is possible to run more trains on the route and faster, officials have already indicated that this would be done once the Raidurg terminal station is ready.
The overhead station at Mindspace Junction will complete Corridor Three (from Nagole) in all respects. The station work is almost complete but the multiple entry and exits for passengers have not been built yet. This could clearly take a few days as it would be done in consultation with the traffic police considering the flow of vehicles in the section.
“After completing all the works we will be conducting trial runs and then request the Commissioner of Metro Rail Safety (CMRS) to take up his inspection and commercial operations will begin on his green signal. There is little chance of seeking CMRS nod for just reversal alone when the 1.5-km-stretch till Raidurg station is reaching the finishing stage,” pointed out senior officials.
There is also a likelihood of CMRS being requested to check the ‘reversal’ and seek his permission to straightaway run trains quicker and faster to cater to the ever increasing rush towards HiTec City.
But, if the previous exercises are any indication all these processes could easily stretch up to a month or more.
Therefore, metro rail passengers may have to bear with the rush during the peak hours for some more days as the option of having full length six coaches to current three-coach trains has been ruled out.
Although officials claim that the average frequency is being maintained at about 7.5 minutes for metro trains at this stretch, it is admittedly stretching to 15 minutes or more because of the peculiar nature of running trains on twin single lines from Ameerpet at lower speeds and tweaking the Communication Based Train Control (CBTC) technology.
If the ‘reversal’ was ready as was originally envisaged few months ago, trains could have been run ‘normally’ like other sections of Corridor One — Miyapur to L.B. Nagar and Corridor Three from Nagole up to Ameerpet. But then, this project has undergone as many twists and turns like the alignment itself having 88 curves!
