Rs 26,000-cr Outer Ring Rail project, first in country, to come up in Hyderabad: Kishan Reddy

NEW DELHI: Union Minister for Tourism and Culture G Kishan Reddy on Wednesday announced that the Outer Ring Rail (ORR) project would be taken up in Hyderabad soon. The Central Government had decided to introduce this project, the first in the country, he said.

Speaking to the media in New Delhi, Kishan Reddy said, "The Railways has already begun the exercise for the project. The proposed Outer Ring Rail construction will be started parallelly to the already constructed Regional Ring Road (RRR) over 350 km covering several districts in Telangana. The Centre has sanctioned Rs 14 crore to conduct a survey for the ORR (railway) project."

"If the Outer Ring Rail project is made available in conjunction with RRR, it will be of great benefit to the people of Hyderabad and surrounding districts. As part of this project, junctions will be established in those areas by connecting them with Vijayawada, Guntur, Nizamabad, Medak, Mumbai and Vikarabad railway lines," Kishan Reddy said.

The Union minister said that people using these routes would have the facility to get off near the outer ring road without entering into Hyderabad and go to their respective destinations by road or rail. The Outer Ring Rail project would bring significant benefits to the business sector as well as the transport sector, he claimed.

Kishan Reddy said that the proposed Outer Ring Rail project would be undertaken with an estimated cost of Rs 26,000 crore. The details of this project were already shared with the State Government, he said, adding that around 99 percent of the preparations for the route map were completed.

The Union minister said that 50 percent of the cost of land acquisition for this project would be borne by the Centre. The State Government had also allocated Rs 500 crore for land acquisition, he informed.

MMTS second phase expansion with Railway funds

Kishan Reddy said that the railway board had decided to take up the expansion of the second phase of the MMTS between Ghatkesar and Rayagiri. Even after eight years, the State Government did not even sanction funds for the project, he alleged.

"Despite the State Government showing its reluctance, Prime Minister Narendra Modi directed the Union Minister for Railways Ashwin Vaishnaw to expedite the MMTS second phase expansion at an estimated cost of Rs 330 crore. The expansion will be completed only with railway funds," the Union minister said.