Hyderabad regional ring rail to run along RRR
HYDERABAD, September 11: The Centre and Telangana government have decided to align the proposed regional ring rail corridor along the Regional Ring Road (RRR) instead of 10 km away as initially planned.
Chief minister Revanth Reddy reviewed the revised alignment on Thursday with senior railway officials, who gave a presentation on the changes. According to the new plan, the 362-km rail line will run parallel to the RRR with 19 stations along the route. Officials said 45 metres of land would be required throughout the corridor, amounting to 6,000 acres including tracks, stations and connectivity works.
The project, including construction, stations and land acquisition, is expected to cost about ₹25,550 crore. The line will also connect to six existing routes passing through Telangana, including Hyderabad.
Land acquisition issues
Officials said land for the RRR has already been acquired to a width of 100 metres in the northern stretch, leaving little scope to accommodate the additional 45 metres required for the rail line. In the southern stretch, where land acquisition is yet to start, both road and rail requirements may be factored in. The government is exploring adjustments for the northern section.
High-speed corridors
Railway officials also briefed the chief minister on the proposed high-speed rail corridors to Bengaluru and Chennai. The Hyderabad–Bengaluru line will be 576 km long, with 218 km in Telangana, three stations and 705 hectares of land required. It will cost an estimated ₹1.75 lakh crore. The trains will run at up to 320 kmph.
The Hyderabad–Chennai corridor will span 744 km, with 236 km in Telangana, five stations and 790 hectares of land required. Estimated project cost is ₹2.24 lakh crore.
Officials said both projects will be taken up by the Centre. Revanth suggested routing the Bengaluru corridor through Shamshabad, Mahbubnagar and Srisailam to provide railway connectivity to Srisailam, which would help pilgrims. For the Chennai line, he advised aligning it with the proposed Hyderabad–Amaravati greenfield expressway to open up new areas for connectivity and trade, and to extend it to Bandar port to support the state’s proposed dry port.
Other rail projects
Officials also reviewed other sanctioned projects:
Vikarabad–Krishna, 130 km, estimated cost ₹2,784 crore.
Dornakal–Gadwal, 296 km, ₹5,920 crore.
Dornakal–Miryalaguda, 97.45 km, ₹2,184 crore.
Kalwakurthy–Macherla, 126 km, ₹2,520 crore.
Under the Amrit Bharat scheme, 40 stations in Telangana will be upgraded at a cost of ₹2,760 crore. Works at Begumpet, Karimnagar and Warangal are complete. Secunderabad and Hyderabad stations will be modernised at a cost of ₹1,042 crore, Lingampally and Kacheguda at ₹802.88 crore, and 36 other stations at ₹915.27 crore.
