HMR trying to speed up street-level work

The tentative date for metro rail link to Hi-Tec City from Ameerpet interchange station (10 km) to become operational is February 15, said senior officials of Hyderabad Metro Rail (HMR).

The Sankranti festival break earlier this week and reduced traffic movement in the area has enabled the metro rail engineers to take up more road space for barricading so as to complete the work on overhead viaduct.

The focus is not only on completing the four piers near Hi-Tec City road, but to complete the ‘reversal’ viaduct at Hi-Tec City station to allow trains to reverse and go back to Ameerpet interchange station. For the second part, 13 more piers have to be constructed.

Work has been proceeding somehow, but not at a desired pace considering traffic constraints as barricades on road reduces the space for vehicular movement.

“Traffic police have been cautious in allowing more barricades on road considering the furore it caused earlier, even though we have assured them that it could be done with better planning causing minimum inconvenience to motorists,” said metro rail officials, seeking anonymity.

Trial runs

In the meanwhile, the HMR is trying to speed up street-level work on ground, while L&T Metro Rail Hyderabad (L&TMRH) is involved in doing up entry and exits at seven stations en route. Trial runs and testing of signalling and telecommunications equipment too is under way to make the system fit for inspection by the Commissioner of Metro Rail Safety (CMRS), who gives the final nod.

Missed deadlines

If senior officials are cagey about giving any precise time-table, it is because deadlines (December then and January now) have been missed. It has already been stated that operating the Communication-Based Train Control (CBTC) got complicated owing to the delay in ‘reversal’ viaduct construction.

Hence, metro trains would be running on independent single lines from Ameerpet to Jubilee Hills Check Post station and switch lines towards Hi-Tec City station and vice-versa using a mix of conventional railway signalling and CBTC systems.