A 40-km Metro Rail line will soon connect the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) to the proposed ‘Fourth City’ in Mucherla as part of the Metro Rail phase 2 expansion, officials announced on Sunday. The revised plan now reroutes the airport metro through Aramghar and the upcoming high court campus on NH-44 to reach RGIA, replacing the original alignment via the airport approach road from Mailardevpally to Lakshmiguda, Jalapalli, and Mamidipally.
“We altered the alignment to accommodate the growing activity along the Bengaluru highway, where approximately 5,000 flats are under construction,” said NVS Reddy, managing director of Hyderabad Airport Metro Limited (HAML). He added that over nine lakh passengers are projected to use the metro lines, with the airport corridor expected to see the highest demand alongside Patancheru and Kokapet Neopolis.
Phase 2 of the Metro expansion will introduce six new corridors, adding 116.2 km and 54 stations to the existing network. This includes a 36.6-km airport corridor from Nagole to RGIA, an 11.6-km line from Raidurg to Kokapet Neopolis, a 7.5-km Old City line from MGBS to Chandrayangutta, a 13.4-km stretch from Miyapur to Patancheru, and a 7.1-km link from LB Nagar to Hayathnagar. The estimated cost of the project is Rs 32,237 crore, with the ‘Fourth City’ line alone costing Rs 8,000 crore.
The Old City metro line will necessitate the acquisition of around 1,100 properties and road widening along the 7.5 km route through Darulshifa, Shalibanda, and Falaknuma. Additionally, the airport metro will feature India’s longest at-grade road-level metro line, an 18-km stretch from the Raviryal exit on the Outer Ring Road (ORR) to the proposed Skill University. The final detailed project report (DPR) will be submitted to the Telangana government by the end of October.
Regarding the ‘Fourth City’ line, NVS Reddy explained that the metro will run from RGIA to Pedda Golconda, connecting the ‘Fourth City’ along the ORR through Tukkuguda and Raviryal. Of the total 40 km, two km will be underground within the airport area, 20 km will be elevated, and the rest will be at-grade, integrated with the new greenfield 300-feet road.
