Hyderabad: The Hyderabad Metro Rail aims to carry 12.5 lakh passengers a day by 2032. Through the whole of 2025-26, however, it did not lay a single kilometre of new track.
The hold-up, an official at the Hyderabad Metro Rail Limited (HMRL) said, is in New Delhi. “No new tracks have been constructed in the last one year since the approvals from the Centre are pending,” the official, who did not want to be named, told Siasat.com.
Currently, the Metro moves about 4.5 lakh passengers a day, roughly a third of its 2032 target. They ride a network of 69 km, all of it built during Phase 1.
The two busiest stretches are Corridor 1, which runs 29 km from Miyapur to LB Nagar across 27 stations, and Corridor 3, the 15-km line from Nagole to Raidurg with 15 stations. Ameerpet, Miyapur, Raidurg and Hitech City draw the heaviest footfall.
Phase 2 waits for Centre nod
The next round of expansion is stuck in a file the Union government has yet to clear. HMRL wants to build Phase 2 as a 50:50 joint venture between the Centre and the Telangana government. This proposal, the official said, is still pending with the Government of India.
Phase 2 would add another 123 km to the current 69, nearly tripling the network, through seven new corridors. None of it moves until the Centre signs off. Asked how many new riders the extra lines might bring, the official said the corridors will come only after the Centre’s approval and the numbers cannot be predicted yet.
More coaches, but no timeline
With crowding becoming a pressing concern, Larsen and Toubro (L&T), the private concessionaire that operates the system, is studying whether more coaches can be added to the trains. That will, however, take time before passengers see more coaches on the platforms, the official told Saisat.com.
But things are moving still. In July, HMRL Additional Managing Director B Ajith Reddy told officials to open talks with manufacturers and procure additional coaches without delay.
Meanwhile, for a system that hopes to nearly triple its reach and carry almost three times as many people inside the decade, 2025-26 has gone by without a metre of new track to show for it.
