'Hyderabad Metro Rail to be slowest in India'

'Hyderabad Metro Rail to be slowest in India'

By B V Shiva Shankar, Times of India, Dec 1, 2012. 

HYDERABAD: Hyderabad Metro Rail (HMR) that is coming up as a mass rapid transit system to ease the city's traffic congestion would be the slowest in the country thanks to the ill-design of the project, contended petitioners who moved the high court against Hyderabad Metro Rail Limited(HMRL). They charged HMRL with changing the originally designed alignment illegally. 
Talking about the sharp curves of the alignment at eight locations in the stretch between Ameerpet and Jubilee Hills checkpost, the Greenlands Ameerpet Madhuranagar Yousufguda Srikrishna Nagar Joint Action Committee (GAMYS-JAC), which is fighting the legal battle for the traders of the area, argued before the court on Thursday that the defective design would pose a serious threat to passenger safety. While railway safety rules prescribe a minimum 120 metre radius of curvature for alignment of a metro train, the curves designed at the marked locations, including Greenlands, Ameerpet crossroads and Sarathi Studios are less than 60 metres.

"In order to maintain an average speed, the alignment must have wide curves wherever the train bends. As per norms, the radius of curvature must be more than 120 metres. If it is less than that, the speed must be reduced to avoid the risk of the train getting derailed," said professor M N Srihari, advisor to Karnataka government on Bangalore Metro Rail. As per standards, the average operational speed of a metro train is 80 km/hr, but with sharp curves, the average speed of a train has to be reduced to 25 km/hr, the domain experts said. However, the very idea of mass rapid transit system would be defeated with the slower movement, they said.

"Unlike Bangalore Metro, HMRL has still time to rectify the errors as construction work had just started. The radius of curvature can still be increased. If they don't do it, CRS may deny permission or insist on reducing the speed. Going by the calculations, the average operational speed of a Hyderabad Metro train cannot be more than 25 km/hr which means it would be the slowest in the country," said Srihari. 
But, it is not going to be easy for HMRL to rectify the loopholes because increasing the radius of curvature means acquisition of more land and demolition of more buildings. While L&T authorities, concessionaire of HMR project, declined to comment, a spokesperson of HMRL refused to do so because the issue is in court.

Hyderabad Metro IS A Real Estate Project

This is in Telugu. Please find below the images of my interview (titled INNERVIEW) today (24 Nov) in Andhra Jyothy, Telugu Daily, in Hyderabad. The lead is given in the front page and the main interview is in the second page. The title of the interview is "Metro IS a Real Estate Project". I argued how the on-going Hyderabad metro rail (HMR) is a real estate project, how we exposed several dimensions of this project over the last 5 years or so when authorities were refusing to share any information, how the traders in different areas got organised to protest, and how we QUESTIONED this project's claims to solve public transportation problems in the city. We also talked about no progress in our petitions in the High Court but it is a moral victory for us when, in another petition, the judge passed an Order saying that HMR cannot be built under the Tramways Act when it is a full-fledged railway project, and how the authorities did not implement the law. We also expressed our disappointment with the TRS party when it did not question the state government's proceeding with metro works without responding to the several valid issues raised by that party.

Osmania University lands - No to Metro Rail

OU refuses land to metro

DC, Hyderabad, October 18, 2012 By L. Venkat Ram Reddy

http://www.deccanchronicle.com/channels/cities/hyderabad/ou-refuses-land-metro-354

The lands belonging to Osmania University will not be alienated to the Hyderabad Metro Rail (HMR) project. HMR has sought nearly 25 acres belonging to Osmania University in Tarnaka, Koti and Secunderabad to build parking facilities and other amenities for the project. However, the stiff resistance from Osmania University staff and student organisations has forced the government to refuse land allotment for the project.

OU teachers, students and non-teaching staff had launched a “Save OU lands“ campaign in January 2011 to prevent university land being given to the metro rail project. They demanded that OU land should be used only for expansion of the university. They pointed out that giving away precious land was totally against the resolution passed by the university on December 26, 1986, as well as the report of the Justice O. Chinnappa Reddy Committee. Of the nearly 25 acres sought, two acres were in Koti Women’s College, and another two acres in PG College, Secunderabad, 1.7 acres on the NIN premises, Tarnaka, two acres in the State Archives, Tarnaka, 2.78 acres in the Tarnaka junction flyover and university road and 15 acres near Sarathi School, Habsiguda. The government has now decided to withdraw its proposal to acquire these OU lands and it will look for other alternatives.

Under the agreement signed with the concessionaire L&T, the state government has to allot 269 acres for the metro rail project. This included the 25 acres of OU. It has already identified and allotted 15 acres in Raidurg for the HMR in August and still needs another 13 acres. The government is searching for other land for developing parking facilities and circulation areas for metro rail stations.

Big Lie - Hyderabad metro to carry 60000 pphdt

This is one of the lies being spread by  the project promoters and their cohorts. First, there will be no load of that size (60,000 pphdt) in Hyderabad. This city doesn't have a central business district (CBD) of the scale of connaught place in Delhi. Even the Delhi metro is not carrying that much load. Delhi metro is carrying about 16 lakh/day, sometimes a maximum of 20 lakh on some days. That is, in a city of 1.3 crore people with a metro network of 162 km (including 32 km underground) on 6 corridors. To say that Hyderabad metro of 72 km will carry 15 lakh and then 25 lakh is spreading BIG lies to justify such projects. Only future will tell how this project becomes a curse for the city.-- CR

HYDERABAD, October 9, 2012

Hyderabad metro rail to carry 60,000 passengers per hour

GEETANATH

Hyderabad Metro Rail is going to be a ‘high density’ project in terms of carrying capacity of passengers per hour. It means that when operational the elevated rail system can carry up to 60,000 Passengers Per Hour in Peak Direction (PPHPD). Initially the plan was to build a ‘medium density’ project which entails a carrying capacity of 40,000 passengers per hour per direction as per the Delhi Metro prepared detailed project report. Later, it was decided to scale up during the construction stage itself by increasing the axle load for hauling more people considering the rising traffic density across the three routes. “Little can be done once the viaduct and piers are constructed so we decided to increase the axle load when the work began,” explains Hyderabad Metro Rail (HMR) Managing Director N.V.S. Reddy. While the three car trains will have a carrying capacity of 1,000 passengers per trip, six car trains later will have carrying capacity of 6,000 passengers with a frequency of five minutes a train. For more, read.. http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Hyderabad/hyderabad-metro-rail-to-carry-60000-passengers-per-hour/article3980572.ece?homepage=true 

Information DELAYED is information DENIED

When Hyderabad metro officials were denying the copies of Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) even under RTI Act, I filed a petition in the AP State Information Commission (APSIC) on 22nd Feb, 2011. Now I got a letter from the APSIC to appear before it on 3rd Oct, 2012, that is, after more than one-and-half year. Meanwhile, the metro works have started etc., etc. What is the use of getting the DPRs now even if we find glaring loopholes in them? -- CR.

L&T Hyd Metro gets 15 acres at Raidurg - scandal unfolding too fast?

Our comment: L&T Hyd metro scandal is unfolding too fast. We have been saying from the very beginning that it is a land-real estate project in the garb of metro. 15 acres of land at Raidurg in the IT hub Gachibowli area is the key for extension of the metro route by 1 km. This was not part of the Concession Agreement. Instead of at Shilparamam the Line-3 will now terminate one kilometre away. The news item says: “The terminal station at Shilparamam was aborted since the site was found to be on a lake bed.”  What a farcical reason. If so, didn't they know it before? It also says: there would be no need to acquire "any land for parking and circulating areas for the stations from institutions like Osmania University, National Institute of Nutrition, Koti Women’s College and others.” If so, then how are you going to provide parking space for commuters at these stations?

Metro rail extended till Raidurg (The Hindu, Hyd, 29 Aug 2012)

http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Hyderabad/article3834705.ec

Hyderabad Metro Rail’s Line Three from Nagole to Shilparamam will now terminate one kilometre away at Raidurg with the Government issuing orders allotting 15 acres for developing parking and circulation area for the station on Tuesday.

The land was under the possession of A.P. Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (APIIC) and has been handed over to the metro rail authorities for Rs.9 crore towards development charges excluding the land cost.

It will be part of the 269 acres to be provided for the project and apart from land for depots at Miyapur, Nagole and Falaknuma, 57 acres are for parking and circulation at the overhead stations.

With Raidurg land allotment, another 12 acres remain to be given. The terminal station at Shilparamam was aborted since the site was found to be on a lake bed.

The elevated train will now take a left turn near Hi-Tec City and culminate near the Mindspace-Raheja edifice at Raidurg, explained HMR Managing Director N.V.S. Reddy. The new station should come as a boon to the estimated 2 lakh-odd people working in the hub including those working in the adjacent financial district. It would also mean avoiding seeking any land for parking and circulating areas for the stations from institutions like Osmania University, National Institute of Nutrition, Koti Women’s College and others.

The extra kilometre for Line Three will escalate the Rs.14,132 crore project cost by Rs.200 crore. The third corridor will now be 28.52 km/24 stations. Line One is from Miyapur-L.B.Nagar – 28.87 km/27 stations and Line Two proposed from Jubilee Bus Station-Falaknuma is 14.78 km/16 stations and overall, the metro rail covers 72.16 km.

Metro works to be halted for biodiversity meet

As this scam-in the making continues, more startling revelations will be coming to the fore. Watch out - C.R

Larsen & Toubro told to halt metro works for biodiversity meet

B V Shiv Shankar, Times of India, Hyderabad, Aug 22, 2012.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/Larsen-Toubro-told-to-halt-metro-works-for-biodiversity-meet/articleshow/15592503.cms

HYDERABAD: The city's metro rail project has hit yet another roadblock. The government in its mad rush to beautify the city for COP 11 has instructed Larsen & Toubro that is executing the metro rail project, to stop work until the international biodiversity summit is over. But the instruction has caught L&T in a bind. For starters, it has come verbally and makes no mention whatsoever of compensating L&T for the loss it would incur for the days of work lost, that they estimate would be around Rs 300 crore. 

The Hyderabad Metro Rail authorities had verbally informed L&T in the first week of August to stop metro work from August 15 to October 19, when COP 11 ends. While L&T has so far not stopped work, officials said on Tuesday that pressure was mounting on them. "The government wants to get away without paying compensation by issuing such oral instructions. This is not fair as we will suffer a huge loss. If they want us to stop work, they must allow us to invoke Force Majeure clause," said a highly placed source in L&T. As per the concession agreement, L&T, the project concessionaire, can invoke Force Majeure clause claiming the compensation if the government issues "official instructions" to stop work. In the absence of a written communication, officials peg their estimated loss for this 60-day break at around Rs 300 crore, estimating that each day's delay is adding Rs 5 crore to the escalating project cost. 

Chief minister Kiran Kumar Reddy had directed government officials to ensure that metro rail work did not come in the way of the bio-diversity convention to be held in the city from October 1 to 19. 

Official denies effect of COP 11 on metro works 
The CM had sanctioned Rs 125 crore for city beautification, which includes a plan to upgrade 125-km road corridor from airport to star hotels, constructing 35 new fountains, proper sanitation and remodeling of junctions among others. 

But NVS Reddy, managing director of HMRL, played down L&T's concern. He said, "It is not a big deal. If L&T wants us to issue instructions in writing, we are ready to do it. But, it has to be done on a proper forum." Denying the effect of COP 11 on metro project, Reddy said the works would be continuing in other parts of the city in the non-COP areas. "When the works would continue in other parts of the city, where is the question of invoking Force Majeure clause and paying for the loss," he questioned. 

However, sources in L&T said the government has asked the company to stop the entire work as the beautification work is being carried out across the city and not just the arterial roads that delegates would be using. They further said that the amount of money the government was spending on beautification in non-COP areas would go waste as L&T would demolish all of it for metro construction work. And if NVS Reddy's claim that metro work would continue in non-COP areas is anything to go by, L&T said it would bulldoze over the beautified stretches even before the convention starts.