TS GETS NEW TERMINAL AT CHERLAPALLY
Extension of service came in quick time after nifty work
Telangana got almost all the projects it wished for, including a rail terminal at Cherlapally on the city outskirts and extension of the MMTS till Raigir, near the temple town of Yadadri.
If a developer offers to build it, the city can get another terminal at Vattinagulapalli.
The development of the terminal at Cherlapally will be taken up at an estimated cost of `80 crore.
The proposal for the Cherlapally terminal had been pending for years. It will help decongest the existing three stations, mainly Secunderabad.
The railway ministry is intending to partner with the TS government to develop the suburban section.
The city will get another terminal at Vattinagulapalli, to be developed under the Public Private Partnership model.
Responding to Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao’s request, the Centre has given the green signal to extend the MMTS up to Yadadri at an estimated cost of `330 crore. The TS Chief Minister is taking personal interest in development of Yadadri as a major templetourist destination and wanted rail connectivity for it.
SCR general manager Ravinder Gupta said it was rare for the railway ministry to approve a project in such a short span of time as it was done in the case of the MMTS extension to Yadadri.
On the instructions of the CM, Hyderabad Metro Rail MD N.V.S. Reddy and his team had completed a preliminary survey and estimate in just two weeks and had prepared the extension plan.
While the MMTS Phase-II is under implementation from Secunderabad to Ghatkesar (21 km), it will be extended from by 32 km from Ghatkesar to Yadadri by laying a third line with attendant electrification, signalling works and new en route MMTS stations at Ghatkesar, Bhongir, Pagidipalli, Bibinagar and Raigir (Yadadri).
Out of the project cost of `330 crore, `220 crore will be borne by the TS government and one-third will be borne by the Railways. The project cost includes procurement of new MMTS coaches as well.
The rail Budget also saw sanction for periodical overhauling of the Kazipet wagon workshop at a cost of `269 crore. `20 crore has been allotted for this year. The Budget gave `18 crore to augment the Kazipet Locoshed from 125 locomotives to 175.
Several pending projects like Macherla-Nalgonda line did not get any significant sanctions.