Metro to start in last week of Nov.

`500 cr allotted for improvement of roads, beautification

Hyderabad Metro Rail is all set to be launched in the last week of November. Municipal administration minister K.T Rama Rao said the state government had invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi to launch Metro Rail operations from Nagole to Secunderabad and confirmation was awaited.

During a media interaction on Wednesday at Secretariat, Mr Rao said Mr Modi would be in city to inaugurate the Global Entrepreneurship Summit in the last week of November, and Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao had extended Mr Modi the invitation to launch Metro Rail services recently.

“This is the reason for closing Oliphanta bridge at Secunderabad for traffic now. There is a gap to connect Metro Rail to Secunderabad station at Oliphanta bridge which we want to complete in August. The balance works and railway safety certification formalities will be completed by October so that it will be ready for launch in November,” Mr Rao said.

He added that work on the 72-km stretch of Metro Rail would be completed by 2018-end. He dismissed reports of any tiff with project developer L&T and said there is complete coordination and understanding between state government and the company.

Mr Rama Rao said commercial operations will also be launched by this year-end from Miyapur to Ameerpet (13-km), Miyapur to LB Nagar and Nagole to Ameerpet (17-km) and Nagole to Raidurg.