HAML to accelerate Airport Metro works

Hyderabad: In order to start the Airport Metro Rail ground works at an early date and fast-track the pre-construction activities, the HAML decided to take up a number of activities in a parallel processing mode. Two survey teams have been deployed to gather ground data for alignment finalisation.

Starting the survey and to give directions to the teams, HAML managing director NVS Reddy, along with senior officers, on Sunday inspected the Airport Metro route from Raidurg station to Narsingi junction. He instructed that station locations should be nearer to major road junctions and the Airport Metro corridor will be planned for dispersed growth of the city. It should serve not only the airport passengers, but also reverse commuters, so that even lower income groups can stay in better accommodation on the city outskirts and reach workplaces in the city within 20 minutes or so.

During the inspection Reddy stated, "the station designs and facilities shall cater to the present and future needs of commuters from different directions of the junctions in this high growth and high-rise building areas, with multi-armed skywalks landing in all directions. Ample parking facilities shall be created on the available government lands nearer to the stations.

While extending the existing corridor 3 (blue line) from Raidurg to the new Airport Metro Raidurg station by about 900 metres, the possibility of combining the extended blue line new terminal station and the Airport Metro station shall be explored. These two new stations can be one over the other in view of the space constraints in front of L&T building and Aurobindo building after IKEA. The new Raidurg station will be at the first two levels and the extended new blue line station will be on the upper two levels. Thus it would be an integrated four-level station, somewhat similar to JBS station of Metro corridor 2 (green line) and Ameerpet inter-change station.

The station location and entry/exits will be planned by keeping the newly laid 400 kV extra high voltage underground electrical cables starting from the newly built TSTRANSCO 400 kv indoor substation adjacent to the planned Airport Metro first station. Shifting of the underground extra high voltage cable will be a time consuming and costly solution and shall be avoided. The Airport Metro Biodiversity junction station shall be planned in a unique way to facilitate integration of the future BHEL-Lakdi-ka-pul Metro corridor station.

Traffic flows from all directions at the Nanakramguda junction will be analyzed to determine the location of Nanakramguda station with arms/skywalks for the benefit of passengers using the station from all directions in an easy way. The travel needs of those coming from financial district also will be kept in mind while designing this station. Ample parking facilities will be planned in the adjacent vacant government lands.

The station location near the Narsingi junction will be planned in such a way that it will cater to the requirements of the huge growth of high rise commercial and residential buildings coming up in Narsingi-Kokapet and nearby areas/colonies. Passengers coming from the other side of the financial district will also have to be considered for this station design and location, he added.