Tri-cities to get fully automated monorail soon

Warangal: If everything goes well, the residents in tri-cities of Warangal-Hanamkonda-Kazipet could zoom in an ultra-modern fully automated monorail, courtesy IT and Urban Development Minister K Taraka Rama Rao.
  
It might be recalled that the Minister held deliberations with the representatives of Switzerland-based Intamin Transportation Ltd, which got expertise of executing monorail projects in 30 nations across the globe, during his visit to Davos recently. He proposed monorail project in Warangal and invited the company to visit Warangal for a study.In response, a team comprising Intamin Transportation Ltd. Vice-presidents Franz Zurcher and Gerard Slenders, Global Spectrum (Management consultancy) president Tika Mustafa Hasan, its CEO Sunil Varma has arrived here on Thursday to review the feasibility of the project.

The team along with the Mayor N Narender and officials started their filed visit at Madikonda and visited Kazipet railway station, 100 feet road, Hanamkonda chowrastha, Pochamma Maidan, Venkatrama theatre near Warangal railway station and Fort Warangal, which were to be connected through mono-rail.

Later speaking to the press at Haritha Kakatiya Hotel in Hanamkonda, Mayor Narender informed that the length of the monorail project would be 12-km from Kazipet to Venkatrama theatre and it was proposed to connect Warangal Fort in future. The introduction of the monorail service, a pollution-free transit system with high speed connectivity, would be a great milestone in the history of Warangal city, he felt. The project might cost around Rs 1,400 crore.

The team would meet IT and Urban Development Minister KT Rama Rao in Hyderabad on Friday. If the project was approved a memorandum of understanding (MoU) would be signed between Telangana government and Intamin Transportation, Mustafa Hasan said.

According to him, it might take 18 months for the project execution. The monorail, which would be fully automated service, could transport about 5,000 persons per hour at speed of 80 kilometres per hour. Four to five monorails each with carrying capacity of 80 to 100 passengers would be run.  

 According to the corporation officials, there would be no need for land acquisition as the beams needed for the monorail could be constructed on the medians of the main roads. There would be 6 to 7 stations initially between Kazipet to Venkatrama theatre which could be covered in 15 minutes time.