HYDERABAD: Two or three more railway rakes will augment the services of Multi-Modal Transport System (MMTS) trains in the city and outskirts in the next five months.
Presently, seven rakes operate 87 services and more rakes are being added in view of the growth in passenger traffic. The average number of passengers using MMTS each day has grown from 15,000 in 2003 – the year in which it was launched – to 81,000 now, Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy was informed on Monday at a joint meeting of railways and the State Government officials.
Briefing reporters later, J.N. Jagannath, Chief Operations Manager of South Central Railway (SCR), said the meeting reviewed the running of the MMTS trains and identified some bottlenecks.
Dr. Reddy asked the railways to issue rail-cum-bus tickets within 15 days. The combined ticket might work out to Rs. 400 a month. The SCR and AP State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) could share the cost equally.
Bus connectivity
On a representation by the railways for feeder roads and bus connectivity at MMTS stations, Dr. Reddy asked the APSRTC higher-ups to ensure need-based bus services even if they were not profitable initially. Mr. Jagannath said the second phase project involved extension of services to Bhongir, Shamshabad airport, Bolarum and Medchal. The existing bypass track from Moulali to Sanathnagar, which now catered to goods trains, would also be upgraded. The State Government would bear two-thirds of the project cost of Rs. 385 crore.
The meeting decided to nominate two senior officers of railways and RTC to monitor the services on a daily basis.
Mr. Jagannath added that the revenue of Rs. 2.81 lakh a day on MMTS services was not economically viable.APSRTC Managing Director V. Dinesh Reddy, Commissioner of Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation C.V.S.K. Sarma, and Government Advisor Stanley Babu attended the meeting.
Source : The Hindu
Monday, September 3, 2007
Railways all set to meet increased MMTS passenger Traffic
Hyderabad, Sep 3 : Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy today asked the APSRTC to increase bus connectivity at all MMTS Stations as needed even if it was not found profitable in the initial days.
The Chief Minister also asked the South Central Railway to start issuing combined tickets for MMTS and city buses within 15 days. The combined ticket, in all probability, would cost Rs 400 only with the SCR and RTC sharing the cost equally. It was also decided a special purpose vehicle will be formed to make the MMTS viable.
This was decided during a review meeting on the functioning of Hyderabad MMTS with officials of the RTC and Railways.Dr Reddy said there should be operational-level coordination by the SCR and RTC with officials from both the organisations monitoring the running of MMTS and connecting buses on a daily basis.
The Chief Minister was firm that there should be connecting buses from all the MMTS stations for the commuters. He also said the state government would take up the second phase of MMTS with the Ministry of Railways for sanction.
Hyderabad MMTS was a equal joint venture between Andhra Pradesh Government and Indian Railways. The cost for the second phase would be shared with Andhra Pradesh Government.
The South Central Railway had forwarded the proposals to Railway Board. The Chief Minister said he would take up the issue with the Board and Ministry at the earliest.
The Chief Minister also asked the South Central Railway to start issuing combined tickets for MMTS and city buses within 15 days. The combined ticket, in all probability, would cost Rs 400 only with the SCR and RTC sharing the cost equally. It was also decided a special purpose vehicle will be formed to make the MMTS viable.
This was decided during a review meeting on the functioning of Hyderabad MMTS with officials of the RTC and Railways.Dr Reddy said there should be operational-level coordination by the SCR and RTC with officials from both the organisations monitoring the running of MMTS and connecting buses on a daily basis.
The Chief Minister was firm that there should be connecting buses from all the MMTS stations for the commuters. He also said the state government would take up the second phase of MMTS with the Ministry of Railways for sanction.
Hyderabad MMTS was a equal joint venture between Andhra Pradesh Government and Indian Railways. The cost for the second phase would be shared with Andhra Pradesh Government.
The South Central Railway had forwarded the proposals to Railway Board. The Chief Minister said he would take up the issue with the Board and Ministry at the earliest.
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