Design of Raidurgam interchange metro station to be user-friendly

HYDERABAD: To study the technical challenges involved in the critical stretch of Raidurg station to Nanakramguda junction of the Airport Metro project and to suggest best possible engineering solutions, Adviser (Civil Engineering), Hyderabad Airport Metro Limited and former Member Engineering, Railway Board Subodh Jain inspected the proposed alignment along with HAML MD NVS Reddy and senior engineers of HAML on Saturday. Some of the challenges examined during the inspection are:

Crossing Mindspace junction at a height of about 21 metres , which has an underpass, rotary and flyover was noted as a major challenge. Different options of laying the metro viaduct with smaller spans with prestressed concrete girders of "in situ" i. e., at site construction; or erection of a 90 metre long special span with composite steel girder would be examined. While deciding the span lengths, girder type and construction method, the construction drawings of the underpass, rotary and flyover will be obtained from GHMC and analysed.

Different design options for the new integrated Raidurg station of the extended metro corridor 3(blue line) and the Airport Metro station would be examined mainly from a passenger convenience point of view. This multi level interchange station would be designed in such a way to avoid shifting of the Extra High voltage 400-KV underground cables adjacent to it.

Airport metro viaduct crossing the multi level flyover at Biodiversity junction at a height of about 20 metres was another engineering challenge. Airport metro pillars would be located away from the flyover pillars in a staggered way to avoid any adverse effect on the foundations of the flyover pillars. The obligatory span crossing over the flyover can be planned as "cast in situ" prestressed concrete girders.

Nanakramguda jn station would have to be designed as a portal structure i.e., with three pillars - one in the central median and a pillar each on both edges of the road -, as the road median is in curve and the station is required to be nearer to the junction to cater to the traffic coming from different directions and roads.