If the MMTS Phase 1, which had started with a flourish, promised a lot and then plateaued, Phase 2 operations, meant to connect the city’s suburbs on different ends, have been 90% complete, if we go by the word of top South Central Railway (SCR) officials.
Phase 2 will connect Secunderabad to Ghatkesar through Moula Ali, Bolarum, Medchal, Falaknuma to Umdanagar via Shamshabad airport, Moula Ali to Sanatnagar, Moula Ali to Sitaphalmandi and Telapur to Ramachandrapuram or a total of 84 km.
Except for Sanatnagar-Moula Ali and Moula Ali-Malkajgiri-Sitaphalmandi sections, all are completed including doubling or more lines and electrification. Three stations have been restored on the Telapur-R.C. Puram line, including BHEL station.
5 new stations
Five new stations Firozeguda, Suchitra Centre, Bhudevinagar, Neredmet and Moula Ali Housing Board Colony are almost ready. Glitch is the cost that escalated from ₹815.55 crore to ₹1,150 crore and SCR claims to have spent ₹580 crore, which, according to it, is double the 1/3rd share it had committed to as per the pact with the State government.
“The Telangana government has to deposit a revised cost of ₹760 crore as it had released only ₹129 crore till date. This has made it difficult to be operational,” said an official, not willing to be named.
“Work has not stopped but has become slow for want of funds,” is what is told, but the reality is there has been no work for the last three months at least. The railways and defence ministry are yet to break the deadlock of taking the line into the Army area on the Secunderabad-Moula Ali stretch.
Railway Ministers Piyush Goyal and now Ashwini Vaishnaw as also Union Minister G. Kishan Reddy, who is also the Secunderabad MP, say the same thing. The railways has spent more than what it was supposed to and unless the State government starts releasing the pending ₹700 crore, the project will not start.
“But, how long will people wait? When it is clear that the State government is not going to release any funds for the project, it is better for the railways to complete the last mile and run skeletal services at least during the peak hours in some of the main routes to provide a convenient and cheap transport to people,” points out president of Suburban Train Travellers’ Association Noor Mohd Ali.
“Even if they run few services with the existing trains, it will benefit people living in Bolarum, Alwal, Medchal and other areas, with road traffic getting clogged most of the time,” adds Mr. Muralikrishna.
Senior railway officials however, have a different take. “True. We have already spent a lot of money but the Railway Board fears that if we complete the project and operationalise, it could set a precedent across the country. There are many joint venture works taken up with various State governments,” an official explained.
Moreover, Phase 2 necessitates new trains and unless an advance payment of ₹80-100 crore is made, these cannot be manufactured at the Integral Coach Factor in Perumbur. The airport line has been held up though Shamshabad is just 6.5 km from Umdanagar because the authorities are reluctant to allow the land rail up to the terminal.
“We were offered a station a kilometre away from the main terminal that is not feasible,” the official added.
