Hyderabad will soon have a new modern railway terminal near Cherlapally. As the existing stations have become congested due to the growing traffic, the South Central Railway (SCR) is planning to build a new mega passenger terminal in outskirts of capital on an extent of 250 acres at a cost of Rs 100 crore. This has been revealed by Ravindra Gupta, new general manger (GM), South Central Railway.
Ravindra Gupta has taken over the charge as General Manager, South Central Railway (SCR) on October 21, 2015. Prior to this assignment, he was Chief Mechanical Engineer, Western Railway, Mumbai. Gupta belongs to the 1975 batch of Special Class Apprentice (SCA).
“We are planning to have a decent facility with six to seven platforms to be constructed in phases. We are looking at the available land with Railway while exploring other options as well. As we need about 250 acres, we are planning to discuss the project with Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhara Rao and Chief Secretary Rajiv Sharma,” Gupta told media in his maiden press conference. He pointed out that in tune with the growth of the city, the railways too need to have a plan for the next 40 to 50 years. He reminded that the SCR earlier had plans to construct a modern terminal at Vattinagula Palli.
Because of the MMTS trains, he said, the authorities had to shift the halts of certain passenger trains from Secunderabad to station to stations in outskirts, especially during peak hours in the morning and the evening.
Stating that the completion of MMTS phase II would decongest the Secunderabad station, the new GM said, the work on the Sanathnagar-Moula Ali section, had been affected due to a ‘land dispute’ with the defense department. He affirmed that they would put all efforts to complete the project as early as possible. A new deluxe waiting lounge of Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) would be inaugurated soon on platform 10 of the Secunderabad station while facilities in waiting rooms on the platform one of the station would also be improved, he said.
