Hyderabad: Prime Minister Narendra Modi was impressed by the Hyderabad Metro Rail on Tuesday, according to government officials accompanying him during the inaugural ride from Miyapur to Kukatpally and back.
He praised the look of the coaches, stations with ultra modern facilities and hoped that the success of first PPP Metro in Hyderabad will go a long way in expanding similar Metro projects in other major cities across the country.
Mr N.V.S. Reddy said, “The PM appreciated the Hyderabad Metro model and said it would become a role model for other cities wanting to set up their Metro Rail systems in the future. He praised the modern look of metro stations and coaches and advanced facilities available to commuters.”
Prior to inaugural ride, the PM was shown an audio-visual presentation on the salient features of HMR for three minutes.
Mr Modi keenly examined the escalators, stations and coaches. Governor Narasimhan and Mr Chandrasekhar Rao were seated to his right while Mr Rama Rao was seated to his left.
Mr Modi interacted only with Mr Rama Rao and shared his thoughts on HMR and other Metros in the country, which he had seen earlier.
Mr Modi occasionally waved to crowds who cheered him from flyovers and top of the buildings closer to Metro tracks on either sides who were clearly visible from the glass windows of coach.
Mr Rama Rao informed PM that L&T had spent nearly '20,000 crore on Metro to which the PM inquired how much time it would take for the developer to recover investment.
Mr Rao told him that this was a transit-oriented growth model wherein huge malls, shopping complexes would come up, which will support the developer.
After the inaugural function at the Miyapur station, the dignitaries went to the first floor of the station where there was a presentation of the Hyderabad Metro Rail and the app T-Savari was launched by the Prime Minister.
The app will provide details of the timings of metro trains and also of the connecting city buses, e-vehicles and share cabs which can be used by commuters to reach their destinations.
The dignitaries went to the station level where the train was waiting for them. They boarded the train along with senior government officials and senior management of L&T Metro Rail Hyderabad. The plush metro coaches were appreciated by the Prime Minister. L&T chief executive officer and managing director S.N. Subrahmanyan explained the unique features of the Hyderabad Metro Rail. Minister Rama Rao explained how the project runs on an elevated platform throughout.
As a token of appreciation the book, The Kakatiya Dynasty was presented to the Prime Minister by Mr Chandrasekhar Rao.
