Hyderabad Metro train set to chug into Hitec City.

Governor ESL Narasimhan will flag off Hyderabad Metro train operations between the Ameerpet-Hitec City stretch of Metro Rail Corridor-III on Wednesday at 9.15 am.

Regular train operations on this stretch will begin at 4 pm on the same day. The 10-km stretch with nine stations will establish metro rail connectivity to the highly congested IT/ITeS service areas of the Hitec City, Madapur, and Gachibowli.

Women-centric station

Taruni-Madhura Nagar station is being developed as a women-managed station and in due course, it will have shops mostly catering to the needs of women and children. The idea is to develop this station as well as the two-acre space available there as a women-centric location, where all the shopping needs of women and children will be met at one Metro station. Unlike other stations which are mainly two-level stations, Jubilee Hills Check Post station is a single-level station where concourse level is avoided to reduce the elevation of the station due to gradient-related problems, said HMRL Managing Director NVS Reddy.

‘Innovative techniques’

He said several innovative engineering techniques were adopted to construct the metro line. L&TMRHL Managing Director KVB Reddy said construction of reverse facility beyond Hitec City station in front of Cyber Towers and Trident hotel is being done in a staggered and sequential manner as the narrow passage is wedged between Cyber Towers on one side and a flyover on the other and it will take a couple of months for completion.

Trains will initially run in a 5-km stretch between Jubilee Hills Check Post and Hitec City station following a traditional railway practice of “twin single line method”. In this method the two tracks are treated as separate single lines and trains are operated in both “up and down” direction on each line separately, till the “reversal” beyond Hitec City station is completed.

Efforts will be made to add additional trains in this section to improve the frequency and to cater to the rush that is expected. Additional staff will also be deployed to guide the commuters to the right platform on which the next train is expected during the single line operation.

In view of the ‘twin single line method’ of operation and the need to increase frequency despite ‘speed restrictions’ on a Metro stretch with many steep curves, three stations will be opened to the public only after a few weeks, NVS Reddy said.

HBL