The Congress government is getting ready to lay the foundation stone for constructing a 29-km Metro rail line through the Old City to Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) in Shamshabad, connecting Nagole, LB Nagar, Chandrayanagutta and Mailaradevpally. The project, as per the current estimates, is likely to cost around ₹8,700 crore—₹300 crore a km.
While few would argue against an efficient, eco-friendly and reliable public transport system such as an overhead Metro line connecting the bustling city areas with the suburbs, the government can perhaps also consider a cheaper alternative.
It will take just ₹150 crore if the government joins hands with the South Central Railway (SCR) to construct an on-ground railway line to the RGIA. The SCR has already completed doubling and electrification of railway lines up to Umdanagar station, from which it is only six-and-a-half km to the international airport, according to senior railway officials wishing to remain anonymous.
