Hi FRIENDS,
I WOULD INVITE OUR FORUM MEMBERS TO DISCUSS ISSUES RELATED TO MMTS AND APSRTC:cheers:

Hyderabad can now boast of JNNURM buses.
I saw a bus in ECIL X road to Kondapur route 10H

APSRTC - LOW FLOOR BUSES

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https://www.apsrtc.in/images/Jnnurm_bus.jpg&imgrefurl=https://www.apsrtc.in/Coaches.html&usg=__m7ABXV_e9Q01K4D09iaybCSfOMI=&h=214&w=285&sz=23&hl=en&start=1&tbnid=pD1pXUTUYOHoVM:&tbnh=86&tbnw=115&prev=/images%3Fq%3Djnnurm%2Bbus%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DX

Babji,

nice link:)

Members i request your suggestions for improving the connectivity in the city:ohno:

when is the apsrtc going to intoduce more AC volvos and vestibule buses? i also hope they replace those battered red and white tin boxes with some real buses.

:bash:

APSRTC lost lot of revenue in the past 20 days. due to non operation of vehicles . so sad

:bash:

APSRTC lost lot of revenue in the past 20 days. due to non operation of vehicles . so sad

Forget about RTC we are not even sure if we will have AP in future!! thats more sad

Source: http://www.hindu.com/2010/01/05/stories/2010010558580300.htm



Efforts on to put MMTS phase-II on track

Senior officials of State government and South Central Railway exchanging notes


Updated revised estimate for the MMTS phase-II put at Rs. 1,810 crore

SCR proposes to take up works where cash outgo will be Rs. 919 crore

HYDERABAD: Serious efforts are now on to pep up the popular suburban train service of Multi-Modal Transport System (MMTS).

Senior officials of the government and the South Central Railway (SCR) are exchanging notes on measures to develop rail infrastructure to take up phase two.

In view of the government’s not so rosy financial position, officials seem to have come to a conclusion that the updated revised estimate of Rs. 1,810 crore for the next phase of the project would be a big burden as the former had committed to picking up two-thirds the cost.

Senior railway officials here have instead proposed to take up works where the cash outgo will be Rs. 919 crore only based on operational feasibility and commuter density.

Communication sent

A communication to this effect has been sent to the Chief Secretary’s office couple of months ago listing details of the sections which can be taken up as stage one.

Sanathnagar-Moula Ali chord line (21km – Rs.239 crore), Moula Ali-Malkajgiri-Sitaphalmandi chord line (10 km – Rs. 107.1 crore), Secunderabad-Medchal (28 km-Rs. 171.6 crore), Falaknuma-Umdanagar-International airport (20 km-Rs.233.1 crore) and Moula Ali ‘C’ Cabin-Cherlapalli (5 km-Rs. 50 crore) are among the works proposed under the plan.

Besides, another Rs.66 crore cost has been estimated for rolling stock like six rakes or trains and Rs. 52 crore as general charges. SCR has explained that these works will provide an uninterrupted flow of MMTS commuter traffic and will also help in decongesting the main line corridors around the twin cities.

Survey

Senior railway officials, who are surveying each and every inch of the railway lines proposed to be developed to consider whether costs could be cut down further, have sought the government’s consent to start works at the earliest. In the meantime, the government was sounded about releasing the Rs. 15 crore due to the Integral Coach Factory (ICF), Chennai.

The money is for procuring six pending trains of nine coaches each to augment phase one services so that the daily trips can be increased to 100 or more from the present 92 services.

However, even if the money is released immediately, rakes manufacture will take nearly a year since the factory is busy with making coaches for the Kolkata metro, senior officials indicated.

:bash:APSRTC has jacked up the fares. will they go back on their decision?

plzz guys lets discuss more about apsrtc
many forums have discussions on ksrtc,msrtc whish are nothing when compared to our state transport

Welcome to SSC-I, Raviteja!

plzz guys lets discuss more about apsrtc
many forums have discussions on ksrtc,msrtc whish are nothing when compared to our state transport

But APSRTC has the costliest bus fARES among all the road transport corporations in the country.we r in fools paradise in every walk of life in A.P.

Hi,
To improve public transport in Hyderabad, we need smaller buses, which would run in the interior roads of the residential colonies like Vivekananda nagar, Chanda Nagar,Nizampet road etc.
If APSRTC invests in mini buses i.e. 20-25 seaters as against the normal 60-70 seaters, and runs these buses (to be maintained in good condition) from areas like Bachupally, Gajularamam, Pathancheruvu etc to Vanenburg (via Mind space), with a frequency of 15 mins and follows the timings, then the patronage would be there. These buses should also touch the MMTS stations.
This would induce the people living in apartments away from the main roads to use these buses.
The MMTS services have to be more frequent and the Sanath nagar to Medak route has to be used for public transportation by plying MMTS services.
Likewise MMTS should be extended i.e. the terminals should be Alwal, Bhuvanagiri, Faluknama, Nampally, Shankarpally instead of Limgampally, Nampally and Faluknama at present.

Regards,
Jagadish

Bus fares reduced in city

Staff Reporter:cheers:

Hyderabad: The APSRTC has revised fares for ordinary, metro deluxe and metro express buses in Hyderabad, Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam and the new fares would come into effect from Wednesday. However, there is no change in the air-condition bus fares.

While, the minimum fare of ordinary buses remains the same, the fare for first three stages is reduced to Rs. 5 from the existing Rs. 7. Similarly, fares for every stage thereafter are reduced by Re. 1.

Fares of metro deluxe and metro express buses are reduced by Rs. 1, irrespective of stages, said an APSRTC officer.

Meanwhile, APSRTC Vice-chairman and Managing Director B. Prasada Rao flagged off a Garuda bus from Rajiv Gandhi International Airport to Vijayawada:banana: on Tuesday for the convenience of passengers, said a press release issued here.

Volvo - Air Buses should be available from Airport to Shamshabad station and regular MMTS services from there to Sec-bad station (via Kachiguda).
Hyd has a lot of rail lines whcih are lying idle - used only for freight...they should be used for public transport as well.

non operation of vehicles

Source: http://www.hindu.com/2010/01/05/stories/2010010558580300.htm

Did the work start on MMTS Phase-II

Did the work start on MMTS Phase-II

Not Yet

Source :http://www.hindu.com/2010/07/01/stories/2010070162350500.htm

Commuters can expect full-fledged services of phase one of the Multi Modal Transit Service (MMTS) in the twin cities in a year's time with the government finally clearing the Rs.22 crore payment for procuring the pending six rakes or trains. :banana: :cheers:

The trains, each consisting of nine coaches, will be manufactured at the Railways' Integral Coach Factory (ICF), Chennai. The payment was pending with the Finance Department for quite sometime now. Official sources said the department had cleared the proposal few days ago and it also got approved by the Chief Secretary and Chief Minister's Office.

An official order is to be issued pretty soon for the amount to be released. The ICF had earlier put the amount at Rs. 14.64 crore as there was already a sum of Rs. 13.80 crore available with it. Total cost for the six trains was estimated to be Rs. 56.88 crore with the Railways and government sharing the cost equally.

The amount escalated to Rs. 18 crore and to Rs. 22 crore due to the delay. Initially, the Government wanted GHMC to take a loan to pay ICF but the latter expressed its inability due to its own bad financial condition.

Senior Railway officials said that it will take at least a year for ICF to supply the new trains once the funds are disbursed as it was already busy in the manufacture of coaches for the Kolkata Metro. :bash:

After the new coaches arrive, the number of daily services can be increased from the current 104 and more commuters can travel as some of the six coach trains will be augmented with nine coaches, officials explained.

Phase one project was taken up on 50:50 cost sharing venture of Indian Railways and State Government by strengthening the existing rail infrastructure at a total cost of Rs. 178 crore in 2003. Only 10 trains of the proposed 16 trains were delivered when the services were launched.

Despite issues of frequency, truncated trains and lack of feeder services, more than 1.3 lakh commuters travel by MMTS on the Secunderabad-Hyderabad-Lingampalli (28 km) and Secunderabad-Falaknuma (15 km) routes.

Miyapur bus terminal to cost Rs. 100 crore


Project to be taken up on design, build, finance, operate and transfer basis

It is expected to reduce traffic woes in and around the city:cheers:

HMDA has called for interested developers for the project:lol:

HYDERABAD: The ambitious proposal of Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) to set up an Inter City Bus Terminal spreading over 55 acres at Miyapur is to come up at a cost of Rs.100 crore.

To be located at a site on Miyapur-Kompally Intermediate Ring Road, the project is to be taken up on Design, Build, Finance, Operate and Transfer (DBFOT) basis.

Among a host of other features it is to have bus bays/platforms for outstation buses as well as city buses, budget hotel and dormitories, rest rooms for drivers, restaurants, convenient shops and health centre. Apart from ATMs and bank extension centres for the crew, it will have bus repair/service centres, filling stations and auto spare parts. The HMDA has called for interested developers for the project which is expected to come up with minimum development obligations within three years of the agreement.

These obligations include one lakh sft commuter terminal, 200 bus bays and platforms for outstation buses, 30 bus bays for city buses apart from idle parking for 1,000 buses.

The other features to be incorporated in the terminal which when ready is expected to reduce traffic woes in and around the city include budget hotel with 100 rooms and dormitories that could accommodate 750 drivers. Meanwhile, the Chief Minister K. Rosaiah has approved the Master Plan of Core Hyderabad Area and a G.O. likely to be issued in a couple of days. With this, the process initiated almost two years back on the Master Plan reached a culmination. “It is completed and the approval gives us satisfaction,” said HMDA Commissioner B.P. Acharya.

Bus Rapid Transit System in doldrums (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/Bus-Rapid-Transit-System-in-doldrums/articleshow/6207282.cms)

The much-hyped Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) from Rethibowli to JNTU Kukatpally is in doldrums with the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) unable to raise funds for the proposed project. As a result, the corporation has put formation of the special purpose vehicle (SPV) for BRTS on hold.

The 18-km stretch, one of the busiest routes in the city, from Rethibowli-Hi-Tec City-JNTU at Kukatpally was chosen for BRTS as there is scope for widening and development of the road.

The Unified Metropolitan Traffic Authority (UMTA) had last year decided to tap about Rs 180 crore under Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) to take up BRTS. However, the Union government kept the project pending as Andhra Pradesh had utilised Rs 2,475 crore more than the allocated funds. Another 38 projects, worth about Rs 3,392 crore, are still pending with the government.

With no signs of fresh sanctions to the state, the UMTA and GHMC are planning to take a soft loan from Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). The Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) has already taken loan for the Outer Ring Road (ORR) phase II and the Hussainsagar cleaning programme.

The state government is under pressure to take up the project as it assured the Bhure Lal Committee on Action Plan for Improvement of Air Quality in Hyderabad. The GHMC assured the committee at the recently held meeting that SPV for BRTS would be formed as soon as possible.

"The proposals for formation of SPV are being prepared and sent to the state government for approval. The GHMC commissioner will be chairman of the SPV and one of the executive directors of APSRTC will act as managing director of the proposed SPV," a senior GHMC official told TOI.

Officials see no purpose in forming an SPV unless the state government gets funds for BRTS. BRTS for the city was proposed three years ago. Feasibility studies were conducted on major routes like Uppal-Mehdipatnam, Uppal-Aramghar and other areas. Finally, it was decided to have BRTS on Rethibowli-Kukatpally stretch.

Last year, Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) had completed a feasibility study and submitted a report, including environmental and social assessment study and preliminary designs.

It was decided that while GHMC would provide infrastructure facilities for BRTS like road widening, APSRTC would provide buses and operate them on the this route.

Television sets in buses on the anvil

Staff Reporter

Hyderabad: The APSRTC in an effort to provide information and entertainment to passengers while travelling is planning to install television sets in buses. The Corporation plans to install television sets in all its buses, including Garuda, Super Luxury, Deluxe, Express, Pallevelugu and in all city services.

To begin with, television sets will be installed in Garuda, Super Luxury and Deluxe buses and then the service would be extended to other buses in a couple of months. The contract to install television sets was bagged by Mega Engineering Infrastructure Limited, a private firm, said APSRTC Vice-Chairman and Managing Director B. Prasada Rao.:banana:

This would serve as a double advantage for the corporation. While, passengers would be entertained during the journey, the service provider would pay a rent monthly of Rs. 225 per bus to the Corporation, informed Mr. Rao.

By installing televisions in buses, the corporation intends to generate revenues by telecasting commercial advertisements, propagate its offers and services to commuters besides, providing entertainment to commuters during their journey in buses.

i saw new kind of tata marcopolo last week

No funds for improvement of MMTS services!

Arrival of pending six rakes from the ICF in Chennai is far from likely :bash:

Bureaucratic maze delays payment of 22 crore to Integral Coach Factory

It takes 9 months from payment date to deliver coaches to SCR :nuts:

HYDERABAD: South Central Railway's plan to improve MMTS services once the pending six rakes or trains with nine coaches each arrive from the Integral Coach Factory in Chennai, is unlikely to fructify. That's because the pending payment of Rs. 22 crore to ICF continues to be stuck in a bureaucratic maze, despite an official order being issued in the first week of July clearing the release of money.

Even as letters were being exchanged between the railway authorities, GHMC officials and the mandarins in the Secretariat, the latest is that the Finance Department claims there was no money to be released!

Quite shocking, since funds were cleared at the high political level following persistent efforts put in by the officials concerned to get the seemingly meagre payment cleared. The official papers have been moved through at least 15 different stages for releasing the money and at times, the file papers were not being circulated for some flimsy reason or other.

The payment had been pending with the Finance Department for quite sometime before an initiative was taken to clear at the level of the Chief Minister's Office as well as the Chief Secretary. All hopes of getting rakes anytime soon are going to be dashed since it could take at least nine months from the date of payment for the ICF to manufacture the coaches and deliver them to SCR, point out senior officials.

The ICF had earlier put the amount at Rs. 14.64 crore as there was already a sum of Rs. 13.80 crore available with it. The total cost for the six trains was estimated to be Rs. 56.88 crore with the Railways and government sharing the cost equally. The amount escalated to Rs. 18 crore and to Rs. 22 crore due to the delay.

Once the new rakes arrive, the number of daily services can be increased from the current 104 and more commuters can travel as some of the six-coach trains will be given the extra three coaches. Phase one project was taken up on 50:50 cost sharing venture of Indian Railways and State government by strengthening the existing rail infrastructure at a total cost of Rs. 178 crore in 2003. Only 10 trains of the proposed 16 trains were delivered when the services were launched.

More than 1.3 lakh commuters travel by MMTS on the Secunderabad-Hyderabad-Lingampalli (28 km) and Secunderabad-Falaknuma (15 km) routes oblivious to frequency hassles and lack of feeder services from stations.
:)

MMTS services to be beefed up soon, says SCR
source:http://expressbuzz.com/cities/hyderabad/scr-to-introduce-8-new-mmts-services/207481.html

Read more: MMTS services to be beefed up soon, says SCR - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/MMTS-services-to-be-beefed-up-soon-says-SCR/articleshow/6581988.cms#ixzz0zyjkbLan
HYDERABAD: Eight more Multi-Modal Transport System (MMTS) services and the much-awaited train tracking system will be launched by March 2011. Also, the South Central Railway (SCR) has agreed to introduce Sunday services between Falaknuma and Lingampally on a trial basis soon.

The SCR officials have assured to introduce the new services during non-peak hours during a meeting with MMTS Travellers' Group here a couple of days ago.

Officials said that trials have been conducted successfully for mobile satellite service-based Train Tracking and Passenger Information System for MMTS trains and Auto Generated Public Address System at all MMTS stations for efficient announcements. "The project costing Rs two crore has been sanctioned and will be in place by the end of the financial year," they added.

Lingampally, Hi-Tec City, Hafizpet, Borabanda, Bharatnagar and Uppuguda railway stations have been identified as very busy stations and additional counters would be installed there.

"The group requested the officials to have contracts in place for cleaning of trains, seats and overhead bins too. If there is any change in the dedicated platforms for MMTS trains at Secunderabad station, officials have agreed to make announcement in advance. Display of timings board will also be provided at six more places at the Secunderabad station for commuters," K Vijayraghavan of MMTS Travellers' Groups told STOI.

The SCR agreed to provide shelter at Hi- Tec City railway station at a cost of Rs 90 lakh and lighting facilities at a cost of Rs 80 lakh at Lingampally and Fatehnagar stations which are expected to be completed by the first quarter of next year.

On security aspect, the SCR officials said 214 Home Guards have been posted at MMTS stations, ensuring that in each shift there would be at least two to four guards at every station. "Each MMTS train is being escorted by an RPF personnel and two Home Guards," they added.

MMTS to operate specials

Staff Reporter

Hyderabad: The South Central Railway in order to clear extra rush of passengers in connection with the Ganesh idol immersion is operating 15 special trains on different routes from Wednesday 10 p.m. to Thursday 4 a.m.

Accordingly, GHF-1 Hyderabad-Falaknuma special train will depart Hyderabad at 11.10 p.m. and arrive Secunderabad at 11.40 and depart at 11.45 p.m. and arrive Falaknuma at 12.15 a.m.

GHF-2 Hyderabad-Falaknuma special train will depart Hyderabad at 1.50 a.m. and arrive Secunderabad at 2.20 a.m. and depart at 2.30 a.m. and arrive Falaknuma at 3.00 a.m.

GFH-1 Falaknuma - Hyderabad special train will depart Falaknuma at 12.25 a.m. and arrive Secunderabad at 12.55 a.m. and depart at 1.00 a.m. and arrive Hyderabad at 1.30 a.m.

GFH-2 Falaknuma-Hyderabad special train will depart Falaknuma at 3.10 a.m. and arrive Secunderabad at 3.40 a.m. and depart at 3.50 a.m. and arrive Hyderabad at 4.20 a.m.

GHL-1 Hyderabad-Lingampalli special train will depart Hyderabad at 10.50 p.m. and arrive Lingampalli at 11.30 p.m.

Hyderabad-Lingampalli special train GHL-2 will depart Hyderabad at 12.40 a.m. and arrive Lingampalli at 1.20 a.m. Hyderabad-Lingampalli special train GHL-3 will depart Hyderabad at 1.20 a.m. and arrive Lingampalli at 02.00 a.m. Hyderabad-Lingampalli Special train GHL-4 will depart Hyderabad at 1.00 a.m. and arrive Lingampalli at 1.40 a.m.

GLH-1 Lingampalli- Hyderabad special train will depart Lingampalli at 11.40 p.m. and arrive Hyderabad at 12.20 a.m. GLH-2 Lingampalli- Hyderabad special train will depart Lingampalli at 1.30 a.m. and arrive Hyderabad at 12.20 a.m. GLH-3 Lingampalli- Hyderabad special train will depart Lingampalli at 1.20 a.m. and arrive Hyderabad at 2.00 a.m.

GLS-1 Lingampalli-Secunderabad MMTS special train will leave Lingampalli at 2.00 a.m.and arrive Secunderabad at 2.40 a.m

GSH-1 Secunderabad-Hyderabad special train will leave Secunderabad at 11.20 p.m. and arrive Hyderabad at 11.50 p.m. GSH-2 will leave Secunderabad at 11.50 p.m. and arrive Hyderabad at 12.20 a.m.
:)

GHS-1 Hyderabad- Secunderabad special train will leave Hyderabad at 2.20 a.m. and arrive Secunderabad at 2.50 a.m., said a press release.

Source: The Hindu (http://www.hindu.com/2010/09/28/stories/2010092862260500.htm)


SCR launches Mathrubhoomi

http://img441.imageshack.us/img441/6481/15930713.jpg (http://img441.imageshack.us/i/15930713.jpg/)

HYDERABAD: Women passengers plying in MMTS trains can now enjoy hassle-free journey as South Central Railway (SCR) on Monday launched the much-awaited Mathrubhoomi ladies special on Falaknuma-Lingampally route.

Everyday over 40,000 women passengers commute in MMTS trains across different destinations in twin cities. Two exclusive ladies special services would be operated on the Falaknuma-Lingampally route and they would be guarded by lady security personnel and ticket checking staff will also be ladies.

Besides, Mathrubhoomi ladies special trains, SCR has also launched Hyderabad-Ajmer bi-weekly express, Kacheguda-Mahabubnagar, Kacheguda- Miryalguda Diesel Electrical Multiple Unit (DEMU) passenger trains.

Chief Minister K. Rosaiah flagged off these trains at Kacheguda Railway station in the presence of Minister of State for Railways K.H. Muniyappa.

Speaking on the occasion, Chief Minister said Hyderabad-Ajmer express was a special train as it connects pilgrims from different religions. The State and Central governments should work in coordination and come up with such services, which aid in passengers' convenience, he said.

Facilities

South Central Railway General Manager M.S. Jayanth said passenger amenities, including extension of platform shelters, Online train tracking system, better illumination would be taken up at all the MMTS station in twin cities with a cost of Rs.6 crore.

Mr. Jayanth further informed Kacheguda railway station would be developed by installation of escalators, second entry from the Amberpet side and construction of new waiting halls at the station. All these works would be taken up with a cost of Rs. 22 crore and would be completed in a year's time, he added.

The MMTS Travellers Group appreciated the inauguration of Mathrubhoomi (ladies special) MMTS service.

Describing it as a milestone on the history of MMTS, the group said this would be of great help to women passengers, in a press release issued here on Monday.

They also requested the government to cooperate with South Central Railway and augment MMTS services and also release funding necessary for commencement of phase-II works.

City awaits its mega bus bay

HYDERABAD: Hyderabad will get Asia's largest bus station when the Rs 100-crore Inter City Bus Terminal (ICBT) housing 200 bus bays comes up at Miyapur near Kukatpally, the civil works for which is likely to begin in January, 2011. This facility will be bigger than the present Koyambedu Bus Terminal in Chennai, which has 180 bus bays.

Once this facility becomes operational, inter-city and out-station buses, which currently operate from Mahatma Gandhi Bus Station (MGBS) in Imliban, Old City, may not be allowed to enter the city limits. The distance between ICBT and MGBS is 20 kms.

The construction of the bus bay is likely to take two years' time.:cheers:

The 162-kms Outer Ring Road (ORR), part of which has been constructed, is expected to be completely ready in 2012.:banana:

APSRTC is yet to draw a proposal on providing city bus services to ICBT from various areas of Secenderabad-Hyderabad. However, the proposed metro rail project will have a station just two kms from the proposed ICBT, thus providing passengers an alternate connectivity. The rail connectivity is scheduled to be operational on this corridor by 2015.

The ICBT will be used by APSRTC buses and other buses of government-owned coporations from other states. As of now, APSRTC and other state government-owned corporation buses put together, operate 3,500 buses carrying about 1.20 lakh passengers every day. The ICBT will also be used by city buses.

Two developers, GKC consortium and DEC consortium, have come forward to take up the project. The Request for Proposal (RFP) for the project has been completed, while technical evaluation is likely to take place next week. Financial bids are expected to be completed in two months.

The mega project, which will come up on 55 acres land at Miyapur, is being taken up by the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) under Design, Build, Finance, Operate and Transfer (DBFOT) basis, HMDA chief engineer V Madhwaraja told TOI.

The ICBT will come up on the Miyapur-Kompally intermediate ring road connecting National Highway 9, about two kms from Miyapur crossroads.

HMDA will sign an agreement with the developer, leasing the ICBT for 33 years which includes construction period, after which it would be transferred to the Authority.

The developer will make revenue from commercial space, while HMDA will be paid an annual lease rent during the concession period. The developer who wins the bid would be required to pay upfront authorisation premium of Rs 10 crore at the time of signing of agreement.

The developer cannot use more than 20 per cent of the passenger waiting area and platform bays for commercial use in the ground floor.

:cheers:

guys, please post more info about the Garuda buses in APSRTC and the city volvo buses running in various cities of AP???

http://www.hindu.com/2010/10/24/stories/2010102462810500.htm

Technical clearance awaited for bus terminus at Miyapur


55 acres earmarked for the project

Terminus to have 200 bus bays and platforms meant for outstation buses

With a host of associated facilities, it is to be set up under the PPP mode

HYDERABAD: The proposal to set up an Inter City Bus Terminal at Miyapur by the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) has been submitted for technical clearance. After this clearance is given, the proposal is to be forwarded to the financial committee for necessary approvals before work could be started.

The dedicated bus terminal facility, with a host of associated facilities, is to be set up under the Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode at an estimated cost of Rs.100 crore. Expected to take shape as one of the biggest such facility in the country, a site of 55 acres has been earmarked for it on Miyapur-Kompally Intermediate Ring Road.

Proposed on Design, Build, Finance, Operate and Transfer (DBFOT) basis, the model bus terminus envisages at coming up with several ancillary facilities including those meant for the crew. These are to include a budget hotel for drivers and staff, convenient shops, adequate food courts, health centres and also dormitories.

The Inter City Bus Terminus would come up in such a way that it can earmark 200 bus bays and platforms exclusively meant for outstation buses and another 30 bays for buses shuttling to and fro from the city.

“The technical committee is evaluating the proposal and sought some clarifications ,” the HMDA officials informed.
:)

RTC’s dream terminals along Outer Ring Road (http://expressbuzz.com/cities/hyderabad/rtc%E2%80%99s-dream-terminals-along-outer-ring-road/228811.html)

It’s been almost a year since a proposal has been made to construct city bus terminals-cum-depots (TCD) along the Outer Ring Road (ORR), but things have not moved an inch yet. Not to speak of construction, even land to locate these facilities has not yet been identified by the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA).RTC officials proposed to construct 22 TCDs at various locations along the ORR for the convenience of commuters.

They planned these terminals to be full-fledged facilities, akin to malls, providing everything to the commuter from provisions to food courts. Commuters could park their vehicles in the terminals, catch a bus to work, come back and on the way home pick up necessary things at the terminal itself

The RTC officials held several rounds of discussions with the HMDA officials for identification of suitable government sites to take up construction of the TCDs. However, the HMDA, which is the authority to alienate the government land to the RTC, has not yet moved on the proposal.

The issue was even discussed in the Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority (UMTA), the apex body led by the chief secretary to deal with traffic and transport issues under the HMDA jurisdiction, but still there has not been much progress from the urban body’s side.“With the city expanding fast to the suburbs, there is a need to catch up by providing amenities in the suburbs which are going to be hubs of development in the future,” an RTC official said. “We are hopeful that the land will be allocated to us soon as it is important to provide transport facility between the city and its suburbs,” officials said.

Source (http://www.deccanchronicle.com/hyderabad/begumpet-get-renovated-bridge-643)
The 60-foot stretch on the Begumpet road-over-bridge, which is weak and cannot take vehicular load, is finally all set to be strengthened and thrown open for vehicular traffic.

Pragati Consultants, a technical firm that was given the task of studying and suggesting ways of fortifying the weak portion of flyover, will submit its report by month end.

It will then be sent to the South Central Railway and the Indian Institute of Technology for clearance, the GHMC engineer-in-chief, Dr Panduranga Rao, said. The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation will carry out the fortification work. Normally, it is the Railways that take up construction or repairs on road over bridges that stretch over railway tracks. But in the case of the Begumpet flyover, the GHMC stepped in after the SCR dilly-dallied on the issue.

Currently, the 60-foot weak stretch has a road divider, or to be precise, a footpath that was not removed when the new Greenlands flyover was merged with the Begumpet RoB.

The footpath is a major bottleneck for vehicular traffic. This divider was constructed by the SCR authorities 23 years ago when it constructed the portion of the flyover over the railway tracks.

Dr Rao said the stretch is weak because right below it are the railway tracks. “When the Begumpet RoB was constructed, no one had thought that the RoB would be widened later.”

It may be mentioned that the GHMC had swung into action only after the then Chief Minister, Dr Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy, had pulled up officials for leaving a road divider in the middle of the flyover.

HYDERABAD: Chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy on Friday flagged off 27 low floor buses, including five AC buses from ECIL depot.

The new fleet is equipped with auto transmission technology, which will enable the driver to do away with pressing clutch and shifting gears in busy city traffic.

RTC officials said that these AC buses cost Rs 50 lakh and the non AC low floor buses will cost Rs 45 lakh each.

APSRTC ED G Jayarao said that within a month, another 27 AC and 167 non AC low floor buses will be added to the city bus fleet.

The new AC buses will be operated in busy routes like Secunderabad - Mehdipatnam, Koti - Kondapur/KPHB, Dilsukhnagar - Patancheru and Jubilee Bus Station - Falaknuma.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/CM-flags-off-27-low-floor-buses/articleshow/7119980.cms

Hyderabad, Dec. 17: The Chief Minister, Mr N. Kiran Kumar Reddy, on Friday inaugurated the Commuter Amenity Centre at ECIL crossroads and flagged off 27 new Metro buses that will be plying on the city roads.

The new amenity centre will let people park their personal vehicles at the terminal and then travel by bus to and from their destinations.

In addition to this the centre will also have an e-seva centre, internet café, banks, ATMs, restaurants, a supermarket, an emergency medical aid centre, a passenger information system, dormitories and many other facilities.

The bus depot will have 12 platforms with as many as 300 buses plying to and from the terminal. The buses will make 2,000 trips every day and will cater to 1.40 lakh passengers

Similar amenity centres will come up in 10 other locations in the city under the JNNURM scheme at a cost of `162.13 crores.

Earlier in the day, NSUI activists had raised slogans demanding that the bus depot be named after YSR.

http://www.deccanchronicle.com/hyderabad/kiran-flags-27-new-metro-buses-755

Hi guys,
I travelled by the new Marcopolo from Kothi to KPHB. The buses are good but the problem is really with the maintenance of these buses. The conductors and drivers can certainly close the doors but they don't.

Government has spent a fortune on these vehicles but the RTC does not care for the condition of these buses even after charging some hefty amount.

:cheers:http://img256.imageshack.us/img256/8092/img0111ad.jpg (http://img256.imageshack.us/i/img0111ad.jpg/)

Uploaded with ImageShack.us (http://imageshack.us)

Source (http://expressbuzz.com/cities/hyderabad/rub-to-ease-traffic-chaos-near-safilguda-station/244289.html)
After keeping the proposal in cold storage for more than a decade, plans to construct a road under bridge (RuB) near the busy Safilguda station, has finally taken shape.

The proposed RuB will be a four-lane underpass.

Construction will be taken up by the South Central Railway (SCR) along with the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) at a cost of more than `31 crore. The cost will be shared in the ratio of 1:3.

Proposal for the RuB was initiated in 2000 by the erstwhile Malkajgiri municipality but was held up because of delay in land acquisition. After formation of GHMC, the matter was taken up vigorously with Defence authorities and the proposal was accepted in principle in February 2008.

M\s Stup Consultants prepared a detailed project report which gave options of both a road over bridge and RuB. However, a RuB was preferred as it would keep the junction at the level crossing active. Secondly, substantial reduction of land acquisition was possible, from 14,000 sq m for the RoB to 11,000 sq m for RuB. The proposal was given final clearance from the GHMC in 2009.

Railway authorities while accepting the four-lane bridge proposal have suggested to stick to the two-lane underpass for calculating cost sharing proposals and are insisting for extra cost to be borne by the GHMC.

Cost of bridge proper (railway portion) is going to be around `15 crore, with approach roads costing `16 crore. GHMC Standing Committee which met last week, gave green signal to the RuB.

^^ Thank God atlast ! I'll be happy when I see the first construction worker at the site ! It's such a horrendous junction in the whole city !

Date:09/02/2011 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2011/02/09/stories/2011020962300300.htm

Transportation study: panel favours LEA Associates

Staff Reporter

HYDERABAD: For the Comprehensive Transportation Study (CTS) being taken up by Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) along with other civic bodies, the technical advisory committee has recommended LEA Associates South Asia in joint venture with LEA International, Canada, which quoted the lowest of Rs.11.34 crore.

Vast experience: In a press release issued here on Tuesday, the HMDA informed that the firm has over 40 years of international and Indian experience in traffic and transportation projects such as Comprehensive Transportation Study for Mumbai, Delhi etc.

The firm is also involved in Mono Rail, mass transit projects of Mumbai and Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) for Ahmedabad.

Team of professionals: For the CTS, the firm will be engaging a team of 15 professionals led by T.S. Reddy, Transportation Engineer, who served as Head of the Department for T&T Department in Central Road Research Institute, New Delhi; John T. Long, Transport Specialist from Canada; John Farrow, Urban Development and Finance Specialist; H.M. Shivanand Swamy of CEPT; Vidyadhar Phatak and B.I.Singal, Railway Planner/Engineer who worked in Metro Rail for Hong Kong, Taipei and Delhi, according to the release.

Hopes brighten for MMTS phase-II
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/Hopes-brighten-for-MMTS-phase-II/articleshow/7504592.cms
HYDERABAD: Multi-Modal Transport System (MMTS) phase-II works are likely to begin this year with indications of necessary funds being allocated for the project in the railway and state budgets.

Official sources said the railway ministry's planning wing has cleared the MMTS phase-II for incorporating in the forthcoming budget. The railway board has already given the green signal for the project last year and sent the proposal for the Planning Commission's clearance.

"The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) has recently sent proposals for allocation of about Rs 200 crore in the state budget for MMTS phase-II project," a senior GHMC official told TOI.

The project would have started last year itself, but the municipal administration and urban development (MA&UD) department issued a GO approving the estimated cost of Rs 641 crore for the project in April 2010. By that time, budgetary proposals of the railway ministry and the state government were approved.

While the state government would bear two-thirds of the total cost, the rest would be borne by the railway ministry.

The sources said the 71-km MMTS phase II, which would be completed in three years once works begin, is likely to cater to the needs of three lakh passengers a day.

The MMTS project is divided into two stages. In stage 1, estimated cost pegged at Rs 317 crore, Falaknuma-international airport (costs about Rs 85 crore), Tellapur-Patancheru (Rs 32 crore), Secunderabad-Bolarum (Rs 30 crore) and Sanathnagar-Moula Ali (Rs 170 crore) sections would be taken up.

In stage 2, Moula Ali-Malkajgiri-Sitaphalmandi (Rs 25 crore), Bolarum-Medchal (Rs 74 crore) and Moula Ali-Ghatkesar (Rs 120 crore) would be taken up. Another Rs 20 crore have been estimated for passenger amenities and Rs 85 crore for rakes (MMTS coaches) were incorporated in the phase II.

On the Tellapur-Patancheru stretch, restoration of tracks and electrification has to be taken up, while on the Secunderabad-Bolarum stretch electrification and remodelling of stations would have to be taken up with the funds. On the Sanathnagar-Moula Ali, Moula Ali-Malkajgiri-Sitaphalmandi, Bolaram-Medchal stretches doubling and electrification would have to be taken up for MMTS connectivity.

"Since the state government is according top priority to connectivity to the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport and the metro rail project corridors are not connected to the airport, Phase II works may begin on Falaknuma-Umdanagar-Shamshabad route, which is about 20 kms," a senior MA&UD official said.

The estimated cost of airport connectivity has been pegged at Rs 85 crore and the works include laying of a new line from Umdanagar to airport and doubling and electrification of tracks between Falaknuma and Umdanagar.

Read more: Hopes brighten for MMTS phase-II - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/Hopes-brighten-for-MMTS-phase-II-/articleshow/7504592.cms#ixzz1E5Y2nheW

Thats awesome. Posting in MMTS thread :cheers:

Boost to MMTS services (http://www.hindu.com/2011/03/23/stories/2011032358370300.htm)


http://www.hindu.com/2011/03/23/images/2011032358370301.jpg
HYDERABAD: There is some good news on the Multi Modal Transportation System (MMTS), at last! Four of the pending trains or rakes of nine coaches each have arrived in the city from the Integral Coach Factory (ICF), Chennai, a few days ago. Remaining two trains or 18 coaches are expected to arrive soon.

Senior railway officials disclosed that the new trains will be used to augment the current first phase of MMTS project in the days to come. There is a likelihood of 10 new services to be started on the Lingampally-Falaknuma route with the arrival of these new coaches.

Some of the coaches will also be utilised to increase the carrying capacity of the existing trains since quite a few are using only six coaches as against the mandate of nine coaches. Of the next tranche of remaining two trains of nine coaches each, one of them will be used as spare.

About 25 to 30 new services can be introduced to the existing 104-odd services each day once the new trains are made functional. It will also help in carrying more number of passengers from the existing 1.3 lakh a day across the routes of Secunderabad-Hyderabad-Lingampalli (28 km) and Secunderabad-Falaknuma (15 km).

However, things will become clear only next month because the existing lines are being used for running more number of freight trains. “More freight is being moved because of the financial year ending on March 30,” explained senior officials, requesting anonymity.

These new trains are part of the original 16 proposed to be pressed into service when MMTS was launched in 2003. But, since then, only 10 trains were being run with most services transiting with truncated six coaches each.

A few months ago, the government had released Rs. 22 crore to ICF as the latter sought more money citing cost escalation. This was after the government had paid up its 50 per cent share, before the launch itself, of the total cost Rs. 178 crore. The rest was borne by Railways for the first phase developed by strengthening the existing rail infrastructure.

What do you guys think about Hyderabad getting its own RTC separate from APSRTC. All the Big Metros have it. Its not like RTC's bad or something, but BMTC's doing a lot of unique stuff to get more and more people use the buses. MTC's getting in a lot of Volvos, Same is the case with Bombay or Delhi. Hyderabad still has loads of rickety old buses :/ I guess they'd come down if we were to have a separate body for Hyderabad.

What do you guys think about Hyderabad getting its own RTC separate from APSRTC. All the Big Metros have it. Its not like RTC's bad or something, but BMTC's doing a lot of unique stuff to get more and more people use the buses. MTC's getting in a lot of Volvos, Same is the case with Bombay or Delhi. Hyderabad still has loads of rickety old buses :/ I guess they'd come down if we were to have a separate body for Hyderabad.

That's not happening anytime soon.. Hyderabad region for APSRTC is the the top profit generator and this is used to compensate for their losses in other rural services across the state.. And splitting this right now in the current political climate is even more impossible

Hmm, atleast they should something to improve the services. If not services, atleast information regarding them would be welcome :/ I mean, like everytime you board an unknown bus you need to ask someone. There's no proper bus route guide book. I guess information regarding routes and more AC buses would definitely boost up passenger growth.

Visited the twin cities last week and here are my pics of APSRTC city boys:

Setwin services run by individuals:

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-C5x-_tzGeb8/TgcLm9CXLOI/AAAAAAAAIxc/FM2Ur8eFOnY/s512/14890129138.jpg


Ordinary services :

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-xm4gi1maRrg/TgcLuBghxKI/AAAAAAAAIxo/9lnpL8B12I8/s512/14890169180.jpg


https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-hxGUqGjd6mU/TgcLz2QcZ9I/AAAAAAAAIxs/Q5aAGtQT8iE/s512/14890193740.jpg


Inside of the bus:

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-7W_3n7I-ZQk/TgcMY_XX-uI/AAAAAAAAIxw/enEzq_SVSxw/s512/14890205039.jpg


A Metro express downgraded to ordinary:
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-CQbYdwxnei4/TgcLkJIsPsI/AAAAAAAAIx0/yOdLGiwA9W0/s512/14890219820.jpg


https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-tOlqYbwmgf4/TgiVlYt86JI/AAAAAAAAIyw/clTkZA3pwm4/s512/14890484122.jpg


Metro Express:

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-eswUVBYjrqA/TgcLpy3lc3I/AAAAAAAAIxg/UgrnGBFf_64/s512/14890144260.jpg


https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-qdP2v-rbwlk/TgcLrmkwGcI/AAAAAAAAIxk/ugFmdEJ3FNo/s512/14890159572.jpg

SLF Metro Express:

TML ACGL coach
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/--y1_wAxbXT0/TgcLe-2lrxI/AAAAAAAAIyU/J5IEOhhVXbk/s512/14890370216.jpg


https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-0aROOBOolA4/TgcMTqbS3NI/AAAAAAAAIyY/rYPYYsqw08E/s512/14890388654.jpg


Leyland SLF
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-86-QDUhOLYY/TgcMDQ4y6bI/AAAAAAAAIyc/svQTZe-HAnM/s512/14890413738.jpg

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-BYY5C7JHFiE/TgcMKBiTfyI/AAAAAAAAIyg/xua26y1APCE/s512/14890426429.jpg

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-Kb4j9PoNn44/TgcMPDBZv4I/AAAAAAAAIyk/PYT0EpTgeUE/s512/14890433274.jpg


Metro Deluxe:

A non AC RE Marco
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-W9pvQ0p7_aU/TgcL8fe534I/AAAAAAAAIx4/H9BrO9X77Kw/s512/14890245170.jpg


https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-hoQLqwEsf1Q/TgcLvgr-zyI/AAAAAAAAIx8/2U_1o5Bzaho/s512/14890262407.jpg


City Sheetal:

AC RE Marco
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-jiCIX3jVbuc/TgcLx4VG3BI/AAAAAAAAIyA/nkCSQ7w-DY4/s512/14890286747.jpg

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Xu2wNx8tR1E/TgcLhVaCp8I/AAAAAAAAIyE/QHTi5IawZlQ/s512/14890305718.jpg

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-N90sfZ8juRM/TgcL2OmC-eI/AAAAAAAAIyI/DRjqOhrDMq8/s512/14890320852.jpg

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-wnv2aK5XE7o/TgiVp4icXYI/AAAAAAAAIy0/5vHcDdpJWeQ/s512/14890487165.jpg

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-6HeC58hC-P0/TgiVsbgSNPI/AAAAAAAAIy4/AVaerDT0hZY/s512/14890502065.jpg

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-vT38eFVyF7s/TgcMXFcaoeI/AAAAAAAAIyQ/Tvh1x5wcOhU/s512/14890355832.jpg

VOLVO

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-KpoIyFuss5U/TgcL_ozLkOI/AAAAAAAAIpg/nXuIIMi-jxM/s512/DSC00370.JPG

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-NWFoywsk5FY/TgcMQhGbZNI/AAAAAAAAIyo/zaBRa_cu9s4/s512/14890454325.jpg


Aero Express buses run by TVS
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-IGIUM83tgQ0/TgcMVROb8HI/AAAAAAAAIys/wabszy-O5Ac/s512/14890472404.jpg

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-3qsIDcmy6mM/TgdI8CE1meI/AAAAAAAAItQ/yfrFpeQ3OLw/s512/B1.JPG

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-tBVb60IhTsE/TgdJXJxjsSI/AAAAAAAAItU/Ba5vmPlinwU/s512/B2.JPG


Regards,
Subbu

^^
Nice pics subbu

http://img232.imageshack.us/img232/3045/24700822803936388992210.jpg

http://img97.imageshack.us/img97/6483/24988922804087055643810.jpg
http://img6.imageshack.us/img6/842/25038322803919388993910.jpg
http://img543.imageshack.us/img543/4682/25102323182856017766910.jpg
http://img41.imageshack.us/img41/4869/25179622803930388992810.jpg
http://img828.imageshack.us/img828/3894/25421422804198722299310.jpg
http://img705.imageshack.us/img705/6951/25424422804208388965010.jpg
http://img37.imageshack.us/img37/3720/25435423182853017767210.jpg

Hyderabad has to really its bus services. Both in terms of maintenace and frequency of buses.

Hyderabad has to really its bus services. Both in terms of maintenace and frequency of buses.

Maintenance is OK but frequency is so so.Oflate poor occupancy is telling on the APSRTC city service.

Maintenance is OK but frequency is so so.Oflate poor occupancy is telling on the APSRTC city service.

The city RTC service never really caught up with the development of the newer parts of the city like Gachibowli, Kondapur, Madhapur, Manikonda, Miyapur etc. There is atmost a skeletal service to these parts totally disproportionate to the kind of commuter traffic these places are seeing. This is where the shared autowallahs are making a killing and I suspect there are vested interests behind the lack of RTC services here. RTC is ultimately losing huge potential revenues from these parts.

^^Since the roads are pretty wide in those parts, they should try out Trams there :D I mean through all those townships in the newer parts :D

^^Since the roads are pretty wide in those parts, they should try out Trams there :D I mean through all those townships in the newer parts :D


Nice idea but you our politician where is money they will pay attention right now they is huge populatiry about metro so everyone wants to be in headline either by being an obstacle or by defending it. at this stage they wont luk this option I guess, but the idea of is tram excellent it has worked wonders in some european countries.

When are they going to get rid of the old, rickety green Ashok Leyland buses?? I've been seeing them since i was a kid.

Nice idea but you our politician where is money they will pay attention right now they is huge populatiry about metro so everyone wants to be in headline either by being an obstacle or by defending it. at this stage they wont luk this option I guess, but the idea of is tram excellent it has worked wonders in some european countries.

Trams are meant for street-level transport using the same street space as other cars and buses. With the kind of traffic on Indian roads trams can only add to the confusion by bringing the rest of the traffic to a halt each time a tram has to pass. What works on European roads need not necessarily be a solution for India.
Elevated or underground metro that does not hinder other traffic is the only way forward. If you want dedicated space for trams then you are actually asking for metro and not trams!

Are there any figures on how many low floor buses there are in Hyd? Both A/c and non A/C ones..

Trams are meant for street-level transport using the same street space as other cars and buses. With the kind of traffic on Indian roads trams can only add to the confusion by bringing the rest of the traffic to a halt each time a tram has to pass. What works on European roads need not necessarily be a solution for India.
Elevated or underground metro that does not hinder other traffic is the only way forward. If you want dedicated space for trams then you are actually asking for metro and not trams!

Well, since they're pedestrianising the Charminar area, there wouldn't be ANY vehicular traffic. The GHMC is planning on a rather large area in the old city to be pedestrianised. Trams there would be of no hindarance to traffic, would boost local connectivity and make hyd look sexy! :D

And the newer areas around ICICI's Headquarters, Wave Rock building have six lane roads that are basically empty for most of the day. Trams could occupy one side of the road, shouldn't be much of a problem.

Eitherways, they should have trams somewhere in the city, cool alstom ones :)

HYDERABAD: The state government has sanctioned Rs 2.28 crore to the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) as part of GHMC’s 30 per cent share to conduct a ‘Comprehensive Transportation Study for Hyderabad Metropolitan Region’.

The amount was sanctioned with the condition that it should be used exclusively for the study and that no additional funds would be sanctioned. The GHMC general body accepted the `2.28 crore sanctioned by the government.

The Union ministry of urban development has approved a proposal to take up the study which is to `15.24 crore.

Of the expenditure, 30 percent will be borne by the HMDA, 30 pc by the GHMC, 20 pc by the APSRTC and 20 pc by Hyderabad Metro Rail and Roads & Buildings as decided at the fifth UMTA meeting.

Source: IBNLive

Source: BusinessLine

Hyderabad, Sept 16:
Low-cost airline SpiceJet expects its new fleet of 15 Bombardier Q 400s, which will join its fleet by July 2012, to begin contributing to the company's bottom-line in 12 to 18 months.
The airline, which will be deploying the new 78-seater turboprop aircraft on regional or non-metro routes with Hyderabad as the hub beginning September 21, is investing about $ 450 million, with an option to buy another 15 at a later date.
“Given the opportunities in regional routes, we expect a load factor from this fleet of 75 per cent going forward. We aim at operating 100 flights a day with this fleet from March next year,” Mr Neil Mills, CEO of SpiceJet Ltd, told media persons here on Thursday.
Initial offer

Out of the 15, the airline has already received four and the fifth is expected to join its fleet later this month, taking its total strength to 35.
In the first phase, the airline will connect Hyderabad to twelve tier II and Tier III cities, including Aurangabad, Bhopal, Goa, Indore, Mangalore, Nagpur, Tirupati, Thiruvananthapuram and Vijayawada.
The inaugural all-inclusive fare to these cities starts at Rs 999, with this limited seat offer valid for bookings for the first 14 days of commercial operations.
Virgin routes

The new routes will include two virgin routes for the airline – Vizag to Bangalore and Vizag to Tirupati.
There will also be its first Chennai to Kochi service.
Further, it will be flying on six currently unconnected routes, such as Hyderabad-Aurangabad, Hyderabad-Madurai, Hyderabad-Thiruvananthapuram, Bangalore-Vizag and Vizag-Tirupati. Mr Vikram Jaisinghani, Chief Executive Officer of Hyderabad International Airport Ltd, said adding the company expected the passenger traffic to go up from 7.6 million last fiscal to over 8.8 million this year.

Source: http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Thiruvananthapuram/article2518279.ece

Hyderabad, Chennai direct flights launched

SpiceJet Ltd. will enhance connectivity to tier-II and -III cities and towns with the addition of the Bombardier Q-400 NextGen turboprop aircraft to its fleet, Neil Mills, chief executive officer of the budget airline, said here on Friday.
At a press conference on the occasion of the launch of direct flights between here and Hyderabad and Chennai, Mr. Mills said the Q-400 aircraft used for operating these new flights could accommodate 78 passengers and were widely accepted as the best short-haul plane globally.
“We have placed an order for 30 such aircraft (15 firm and 15 options) and have already taken delivery of the first five during early September. Delivery of the next two is expected by this month-end. The flyers from Thiruvananthapuram will get more options once the aircraft join the fleet,” he added.
Mr. Mills, who was earlier the chief financial officer of the Dubai government's Fly Dubai and EasyJet of the U.K., said SpiceJet had applied for approval to fly to 10 international destinations and clearances had been granted for five routes in the past two weeks.
In the first phase of the Q-400 operations, the airline would connect Hyderabad to popular tier-II and -III destinations — Aurangabad, Bhopal, Goa, Indore, Madurai, Mangalore, Nagpur, Pune, Rajahmundry, Tirupati, Thiruvananthpauram, and Vijayawada.
Terming the daily services to Chennai and Hyderabad a “big move” in the “right direction” because of the traffic volumes involved in the hitherto poorly connected corridors, Mr. Mills said the airline alone operated the new Bombardier aircraft in the tier-II and -III sectors.
He said the aircraft offered a whole new experience to travellers with a quieter cabin using noise-suppressing technology, comfortable seats, and space as in a wide-bodied aircraft.
The first Hyderabad-Thiruvananthapuram flight landed at the international airport here at 8.55 a.m. on Thursday.
Flight SG1011 will depart daily from Hyderabad at 6.35 a.m. to reach Thiruvananthapuram at 9.05 a.m. In the return direction, SG1012 will depart from here every day at 8.45 p.m. to reach Hyderabad at 11.15 p.m.
SG1262 flight will depart from Chennai at 6.45 p.m. and land here Thiruvananthapuram at 8.20 p.m. on all days. SG1261, in the return direction, will depart from here at 9.25 a.m. to reach Chennai at 11 a.m.
SpiceJet also commenced the Kochi-Chennai service on Thursday and announced a second flight on this route from November 11. Mr. Mills said a third base of the airline for Q-400 operations after Hyderabad and Chennai would be set up in February next year.
He said a shake-up in the budget airline model might be a possibility that the industry would be living with, but how real it could turn out to be or when was one of perception. He found no scope yet for a wholesale consolidation in the sector, leading to mergers and acquisitions.
“No one player is big enough to propose an M&A,” he said while adding that “SpiceJet could claim for itself a sound financial position.”
Asked about the availability of pilots in the country for the Q-400 aircraft, Mr. Mills said there was a lack of trained pilots and the airline had gone for a 50:50 combination in the cockpit for expats and Indian nationals. The captain would be an expat to start with and the co-pilots would be those trained on the ATR aircraft.
He said a long-range aircraft was not an option the airline, which had a 14 per cent market share, was looking at now. He also ruled out a dedicated cargo service. Instead, the airline would focus on generating value out of its current fleet of Boeings and Bombardiers.

Source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/industry-and-economy/logistics/article2559395.ece?homepage=true&ref=wl_home

Hyderabad, Oct. 21:
The Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC), one of the major State-owned corporations operating the transport network, has drawn up a comprehensive programme aimed at regaining the lost revenue due to 27-day strike in support of the ongoing agitation for Statehood of Telangana.

The corporation is estimated to have lost about Rs 211.44 crore due to the agitation in the Telangana region alone as a part of Sakala Janula Samme. It could not operate about 980.07 lakh kilometres besides suffering a loss of 22.74 crore passengers and wastage of 2.71 lakh vehicle days.

Now that the strike has been called off, the corporation is taking up a series of initiatives to recoup the losses by operating more and revenue yielding kilometres in the remaining part of the current financial year (about 165 days).

Action plan

According to the action plan, the thrust now is on increasing the occupancy level by additional one per cent, which is expected to yield about Rs 38 crore more for the corporation per month. This move, if achieved will still leave a short fall of Rs 95 crore for the financial year and 2.95 lakh kilometres per day to be recouped in the remaining 165 days.

According to a statement from APSRTC, the regional managers will initiate action for operating 2000 additional kilometres extra per day to recoup the loss of earnings.

Allowances

In a Government order referred to as STAR — Strategic Tools for Augmentation of Revenues, the corporation has decided to pay allowance to drivers and conductors involved in extra operation.

As a part of the drive, A Save APSRTC fortnight would be observed from November 1-15 across all depots of the corporation. It also plans to hold gate meetings to bring about attitudinal change among staff.

Source: http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Hyderabad/article2562114.ece

In terms of the presence of the largest fleet of vehicles comprising two, three and four wheelers in the city, Mahatma Gandhi Bus Terminal Complex (MGBS) stands apart. It is one point where despite best possible efforts, chaos prevail given the high volume of vehicles zooming in and out.
The Comprehensive Transport Study (CTS) for Hyderabad Metropolitan Area taken up by the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority has a special focus on what is considered as one of the largest bus stations in the world. And the field survey reports collated for the study by LEA Associates turns out to be quite revealing.
The initial study took a detailed look at the existing circulation of traffic, parking requirements and pedestrian movement among other aspects at the terminal complex spread over 79,806 square metres and has 74 platforms serving buses. According to the data collated by the study, the total number of buses touching here every day stood at 3,512 and the daily number of passengers and visitors at a whooping 1,20,000. With three accesses for the buses, two for entry and one meant for exit, the number of vehicles coming at MGBS apart from buses has been documented at 4,000 two-wheelers, 7,000 autos and around 1,000 cars.
Taking stock of the parking facilities, it noted that the complex has three designated parking lots which are primarily used for two-wheelers and a maximum of about 1,500 vehicles are found in a day. Further to its initial report, the CTS as part of Terminal Improvement Study will be evaluating the need for additional access to MGBS and internal circulation plan for its efficacy and safety of passengers and vehicles apart from the parking demand. Strategies for meeting future needs and improving existing operations of the area will be evolved while proposing short to medium term improvement plans as part of the study.

Source: http://ibnlive.in.com/news/highsecurity-number-plates-for-all-vehicles/197764-60-121.html

HYDERABAD: The AP State Road Transport Corporation has invited tenders for making high-security number plates for motor vehicles in the state. The Union ministry of road transport and highways had asked the state government to enforce the tamper-proof number plates for all vehicles registered in the state. The government then asked the APSRTC to make the high-security plates and set up plate-fixing stations at all RTO offices in the state.
Transport minister Botcha Satayanaryana, transport commissioner Hiralal Samariya and RTC managing director B Prasada Rao have visited Germany and studied the working of the high-security number plate system there. RTA officials claim that the high-security number plates, which will be manufactured using advanced technology, can prevent vehicle theft, fake registration, use of fake number, illegal sale and tax evasion.
According to RTC managing director B Prasada Rao, a pre-bid meeting was held in September and the tender process, which is in progress, will be completed by the second week of November.

According to sources, the cost of the new number plate will burden a vehicle owner. It may cost Rs 500 to Rs 600 for a two-wheeler and the cost has to be borne by the owner of the vehicle.

Source: http://dailypioneer.com/nation/18505-railways-plans-high-speed-tracks-through-ppp-funds.html

The scarcity of fund has prompted Indian Railways to look at PPP model to develop high speed train network, feasibility study for which is already under process. The response to PPP initiative for several railway projects has not been encouraging, but railways is hopeful that novelty of the high speed train network project would attract new investors.
“Railways desires the Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode for investment and execution, and draws on frontier technologies incorporating the highest standards of safety and service quality,” Minister of State for Railway KH Muniyappa said.
Railways finances are under acute strain after implementing the recommendations of the Sixth Pay Commission and taking into account the increasing cost of operation. The Ministry is under intense pressure from the Finance Minister and the Planning Commission to hike passenger fare and freight charges to generate more revenue that could fund the major infrastructure works.
At present, trains on the Indian railway network touch a peak speed of 120-130 kmph, while the Bhopal Shatabdi clocks a maximum of 150 kmph between Tughlakabad and Agra.
To develop high-speed rail network, the Government has identified six corridors namely Delhi-Chandigarh-Amritsar (450 km), Pune-Mumbai-Ahmedabad (650 km), Hyderabad-Dornakal-Vijaywada-Chennai (664 km), Chennai-Bangalore-Coimbatore-Ernakulam (649 km), Howrah-Haldia (135 km) and Delhi-Agra-Lucknow-Varanasi-Patna (991 km).
The final report submitted by the Consultant for the Pune-Mumbai-Ahmedabad corridor is under examination by all the stakeholders including the State Governments of Maharashtra and Gujarat.
Similarly, consultant has been engaged for the Delhi-Agra-Lucknow-Varanasi- Patna and Howrah-Haldia corridors and study was in progress. The inception report and interim reports have already been submitted to the Railway Ministry.
Tenders have been invited for the pre-feasibility study of Hyderabad-Dornakal-Vijaywada-Chennai and Chennai-Bangalore-Coimbatore-Ernakulam corridors. Similarly, tenders for Delhi-Chandigarh-Amritsar corridor were invited and the bids are under evaluation.
The expenditure on prefeasibility studies would be approximately Rs 50 crore, which will be borne by the Ministry of Railways and concerned State Governments on 50:50 cost-sharing basis. Completion of prefeasibility studies will take about one year.
Railway Board’s member electiral Kul Bhushan said with the commissioning of Dedicated Freight Corridors, capacity would be released along the existing trunk routes and these would be upgraded to run passenger trains and EMUs at 200 kmph.
“A study is being carried out by the Government of Japan for upgrading speed of New Delhi-Mumbai route to 200 kmph. The other strategy is to develop green field high speed rail corridors with a speed potential of 250-350 kmph on the identified six corridors,” he said.

http://ibnlive.in.com/news/transport-corporation-to-set-up-iti-bus-depots/200589-60-121.html
HYDERABAD: The board of AP State Road Transport Corporation, which met at Bus Bhavan on Tuesday under presidentship of chairman M Satyanarayana Rao, took some important decisions. It decided to set up an industrial training institute at Hakimpet and sanctioned `778 crore for buillding bodies for the newlypurchased 4,000 buses. Sanction was given for setting up three bus depots at Madhurawada in Visakapatnam, Kollapur in Mahaboobnagar and Maheswaram in Rangareddy.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/RTC-to-induct-8000-new-buses-in-state/articleshow/10662299.cms
HYDERABAD: The Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) on Tuesday decided to induct 8,000 new buses in the next two years.

Officials said a decision was taken at the corporation's board meeting to procure 4,000 new buses during the financial year 2011-12 and an equal number during 2012-13.

Besides, the board also took a decision to start an industrial training institute ( ITI) at Hakeempet as a pilot project.

"Administrative sanction has been accorded to construct three new depots Maheshwaram in Ranga Reddy district, Kolapur in Mahbubnagar district and Madhurawada in Visakhapatnam", the officials said.

Henceforth LED bulbs would be used at APSRTC Bus Bhavan instead of tubelights as a pilot project and officials hope to save Rs15.75 lakh on power bills.

The meeting has also decided to extend 25% concession to senior citizens in all bus services and construct a bridge at Imliban at a cost of Rs 9 crore.

This thread is for posting updates, pics and for discussion on APSRTC-run Hyderabad city buses. :)

-- Space for future updates --

X-posting from APSRTC thread:

http://img39.imageshack.us/img39/2679/29885929312482071470910.jpg

X-posting from APSRTC thread:
http://img803.imageshack.us/img803/4938/dsc00122ww.jpg

METRO DELUXE(marcopolo lowfloor)

http://img805.imageshack.us/img805/6983/dsc00118oe.jpg

CITY SHEETAL(marcopolo lowfloor A/C)

http://img443.imageshack.us/img443/3121/dsc00112idrc.jpg

METRO EXPRESS(ashok leyland-viking semi low floor)

http://img695.imageshack.us/img695/6276/dsc00124uz.jpg

METRO EXPRESS(tata-1613C semi lowfloor-built by ACGL)

X-posting from APSRTC thread:
Hyd City buses

CC: World8115
Volvo AC Bus
http://img412.imageshack.us/img412/2858/photo0420x.jpg

http://img35.imageshack.us/img35/9585/photo0421z.jpg

AL Non-AC Metro Bus
http://img846.imageshack.us/img846/4783/photo0419j.jpg

http://img851.imageshack.us/img851/8449/photo0418w.jpg

^^ I wonder why every bus has to look like a mobile bill board. Looks like APSRTC has forgot something called 'maintenance'.

^^ +1

4 RTC commercial complexes built

Source (http://ibnlive.in.com/news/4-rtc-commercial-complexes-built/207899-60-121.html)
In a bid to improve its revenues, the Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation has decided to gain income from sources other than its core business of passenger transport.

Facing a severe fund crunch, the transport utility has constructed four commercial complexes in and around the city to tide over losses which stood at Rs 1,800 crore. The commercial complexes in ECIL, Patancheru, Kukatpally and Koti have been constructed at a cost of Rs 40 crore.

The ECIL commercial complex was inaugurated in January 2010 and getting a revenue of Rs 90,000 per month through shops for rent.

The Patancheru commercial complex was inaugurated in May but the space has not been given for rent so far. The Kukatpally and Koti complexes are ready for inauguration. RTC officials are expecting Rs 40 lakh as revenue per month through the four complexes.

The APSRTC Greater Hyderabad zone executive director Purusotham Naik said about 1,66,690 lakh square feet commercial area is available in the four complexes.

He added that two more commercial complexes are under construction in Farroqnagar and Midhani. Commercial complexes would be allotted through tender to anyone, Naik said.

http://img41.imageshack.us/img41/4869/25179622803930388992810.jpg


need to get get rid of all of these POS ASAP

Source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com/channels/cities/hyderabad/shamshabad-airport-increase-reach-282

The growing wishlist of destination hoppers to and from the city will soon result in the Shamshabad airport being connected with over a dozen international destinations across the globe and multiple destinations in Africa, Southeast Asia and Europe. While the number of travellers to international locations is increasing rapidly, the number of travellers at the Shamshabad airport alone has grown by about 17 per cent this year. With the addition of a number of destinations, the number of international passengers is expected to double within a year.

“We are in active discussions with many international carriers from Europe, Southeast Asia and Africa and other destinations. Most of these carriers are awaiting delivery of new aircraft and as and when these deliveries are made, the airlines will commission their flights to and from Hyderabad. Due to the sensitive nature of the business, we are not in a position to disclose the names of the airlines,” said a senior official at the internation airport.

Source:The Times of India http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=TOINEW&BaseHref=TOIH/2011/12/13&PageLabel=3&EntityId=Ar00305&ViewMode=HTML

The Centre has given the green signal for conducting a survey for laying of the 110-km MMTS railway line between Shankarpalli in Rangareddy district to Paidipalli near Bhongir in Nalgonda district, said Union minister of state for railways K H Muniyappa here on Monday.
Once the survey clears the railway line, the Centre will fund onethird of the total cost. Another MMTS line for which a survey is to be conducted is between Sanathnagar to Moulali.
The survey for both the lines will be taken up as part of the second phase of MMTS. However, the minister did not mention the cost of the two new MMTS railway lines. Muniyappa said the longpending Vikarabad-Raichur railway line will figure in the coming railway budget.Estimated at a cost of Rs 110 crore, the project has been pending for the last 30 years

http://ibnlive.in.com/news/highspeed-railway-corridors-to-pass-through-ap/211548-60-114.html
High-speed railway corridors to pass through AP
HYDERABAD: The Railway ministry is planning to construct six high speed corridors for which survey work is underway. Among the proposed high speed corridors will be one from Kolkata to Kerala via Vijayawada, Nellore and Veluru and another from Hyderabad to Chennai.
Addressing a two-day national workshop on Skills Upgradation and Prevention of Accidents organised by the South Central Railways Employees Sangh and National Federation of Indian Railwaymen, minister of state for railways, KH Muniyappa said the railways is also planning to construct railway over bridges, under bridges in place of crossings to avoid accidents and this work will be completed by 2014.
The other proposed corridors are from Bengaluru to Chennai, Mumbai to Chennai, Delhi to Hyderabad and Delhi to Chennai. The survey for the same through a consultant, is underway.
The minister also said there are pressures from various quarters to hike charges and that the matter was under discussion. “Around 2,000 to 3,000 deaths are registered every year in train accidents and we are looking to bring the numbers down to zero,” Muniyappa said. He added that they are planning to introduce an advanced signaling system, presently used in Konkan Railway, in places in the country to reduce accidents. He said the railways, has set a target to construct 20,000 new railway lines by 2020.� �
The MMTS second phase works in Hyderabad will begin from February 2012 and the state government is ready to bear two-thirds of the entire project cost of Rs 600 crore. He appreciated the AP government for coming forward to bear 50 percent cost of new railway projects.

CM says Andhra Pradesh to finance the 65 percent of finances for the MMTS phase-II project
http://www.orissadiary.com/Shownews.asp?id=30766
Hyderabad: Chief Minister Sri N.Kiran Kumar Reddy has announced that the State Government agreed to finance the 65 percent of finances for the MMTS phase-II project and said that all efforts are being made with the cooperation of the Members of Parliament to achieve this project.

The Chief Minister participated as chief guest in the two-day youth convention of National Federation of Indian Railways and the workshop on "Skill upgradation and prevention of accidents" held here at Rail Kalarang this evening. Speaking on this occasion, the Chief Minister stated that the State Government is trying to synchronize education and employment with the help of Industry and started "Rajiv Yuva Kiranalu" programme. Training to the youth will be given in the skill development to get railway jobs also under this scheme, the Chief Minister added.

The Chief Minister has informed that it will be the suitable answer to the critics the day on which one lakh appointment orders will be handed over on a single day through the hands of Hon'ble Prime Minister. Even Confederation of Indian Industry in its survey stated that 28 to 30 lakh jobs will be available in the next three years, State Government targeted to provide 15 lakh jobs only and constituted "Rajiv Education and Employment Mission, AP" board with nine cabinet ministers, nine principal Secretaries, three mission directors and prominent industrialists.

The Chief Minister has also said that 1.16 lakh government posts are being filled up for notifications will be completed by this month end. Mr G.M.Asthana, General Manager, South Central Railway stated that the State Government is cooperating for the growth of Railways in the State. Mr Marri Raghavaiah, General Secretary of NFIR stated that South Central Railway is one the best zones in the country and complemented the Chief Minister for several new initiatives for the welfare of poor, women, farmers, youth etc. Ms.Jayasudha, MLA, Secunderabad also spoke on the occasion.

^^ wow thats really a good news...at a point of time i thot this project wont materialize ...now i hope that this project commences asap....btw when is it going to start ..?

BHEL-BHEL DEPOT
BKP-BARKATHPURA
CNT- CANTONMENT
CPT-
DSNR-DILSUKH NAGAR
FM- FALAKNUMA
HYT I, HYT II- HAYAT NAGAR
HPT-HAKIMPET
HCU-HYDERABAD CENTRAL UNIVERSITY
HYD1/HYDII- HYDERABAD FOR MOFUSSIL
IBP-IBRAHIMPATNAM
JDM-JEEDIMITLA
KG-KUSHAIGUDA(ECIL)
KP-KUKATPALLY
MYP1/MYPII-MIYAPUR
MDCL-MEDCHAL
MDN-MIDHANI
MSRDI/MSRDII-MUSHIRABAD
MP-MEHDIPATNAM
PKT-PICKET
RNGI/RNGII-RANIGUNJ
RJNR-RAJENDRA NAGAR
UPL-UPPAL.

A/C SERVICES IN APSRTC HYDERABAD
218-KOTI-PATENCHERU
219-SECUNDRABAD-PATENCHERU
225L/V N.G.O COLENY-LINGAMPALLY
113EK UPPAL- LINGAMPALLY
10H/17H ECIL-KONDAPUR
127K/V KONDAPUR-N.G.O.COLENY
10H KONDAPUR-SECUNDRABAD
19K MEHDIPATNAM-K.P.H.B COLENY

218D DILSUKH NAGAR-PATENCHERU A/C

BHEL-BHEL DEPOT
BKP-BARKATHPURA
CNT- CANTONMENT
CPT-
DSNR-DILSUKH NAGAR
FM- FALAKNUMA
HYT I, HYT II- HAYAT NAGAR
HPT-HAKIMPET
HCU-HYDERABAD CENTRAL UNIVERSITY
HYD1/HYDII- HYDERABAD FOR MOFUSSIL
IBP-IBRAHIMPATNAM
JDM-JEEDIMITLA
KG-KUSHAIGUDA(ECIL)
KP-KUKATPALLY
MYP1/MYPII-MIYAPUR
MDCL-MEDCHAL
MDN-MIDHANI
MSRDI/MSRDII-MUSHIRABAD
MP-MEHDIPATNAM
PKT-PICKET
RNGI/RNGII-RANIGUNJ
RJNR-RAJENDRA NAGAR
UPL-UPPAL.
New depots to come up,

RTC: new buses and depots next year

Source (http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Hyderabad/article2761446.ece)
In the coming year, the APSRTC plans to add nearly 350 city buses to the existing fleet of 3,700 buses, besides commencing operations from Chengicherla, Bandlaguda, Kacheguda and Farooqnagar bus depots.

Construction of the above four depots was nearing completion and operations from these depots would commence in February, said A. Purushotham Naik of the Greater Hyderabad zone .

This apart, four new depots are being planned at Jawaharnagar, Maheswaram, Shamshabad and Gandimysamma areas.

Authorities are already in the process of acquiring land, he said. This year over 50 air-conditioned buses, 100 mini-buses and 50 CNG buses were introduced into the fleet.

Further, to improve our services, few Goodwill Centres, Seva Centres, Passenger Grievance cells and other facilities were provided for commuters. All these measures helped to improve the seat occupancy ratio by 6 per cent this year, he claimed.

The corporation, in an effort to offer better services to its commuters, has constructed a community amenity centre at ECIL crossroads and Patancheru and very shortly two new centres at Koti and Kukatpally would also be launched, said Mr. Naik.

A/C SERVICES IN APSRTC HYDERABAD
218-KOTI-PATENCHERU
219-SECUNDRABAD-PATENCHERU
225L/V N.G.O COLENY-LINGAMPALLY
113EK UPPAL- LINGAMPALLY
10H/17H ECIL-KONDAPUR
127K/V KONDAPUR-N.G.O.COLENY
10H KONDAPUR-SECUNDRABAD
19K MEHDIPATNAM-K.P.H.B COLENY

218D DILSUKH NAGAR-PATENCHERU A/C
Also I think 9X from CBS-Jeedimetla and 226L to Lingampally is also AC (City Sheetal)

Source: http://news.carrentals.co.uk/japan-india-team-up-for-transport-34253435.html

Japan has announced that it’s working closely with India on the proposed high-speed rail projects in the country. Railway sources say an in-depth discussion was held between Japanese Minister for Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Takeshi Maeda and Indian Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi. It’s understood that Trivedi says there’s an increasing demand for high-speed services in India due to its growing economy.

It’s believed that Maeda has pledged his government’s support and expressed an eagerness to work close with India, which has identified six corridors for a high-speed rail network in the country. The corridors, which were identified by Indian Railways, include – Hyderabad-Vijayawada-Chennai; Pune-Mumbai-Ahmedabad; Delhi-Agra-Lucknow-Varanasi-Patna; Delhi-Chandigarh-Amritsar; Chennai-Bangalore-Coimbatore-Trivandrum; and Howrah-Haldia

A delegation to India led by the Japanese minister included Railway Bureau senior deputy DG Akhihiko Tamura, East Japan Railway Company president Satoshi Seino, Kawasaki Heavy Industry chairman Tadaharu Ohashi and Japanese ambassador to India, Akitaka Saiki – as well as others. The External Trade Organisation and Oriental Consultancy in Japan, as well as Parsons Brinkhoff India, have sealed the contract for a pre-feasibility study to be conducted on the Hyderabad-Vijayawada-Chennai corridor.

Indian Railways has already announced that it will set up a National High Speed Rail Authority (NHSRA), and an approval for the move is due to be put before the Union Cabinet this year. Meanwhile, Japan was set to make a detailed presentation on operating high-speed trains in New Delhi on Friday.

Both countries made efforts in the direction of a high-speed rail system last year. DG for International Affairs of Japan, Ryuhei Maeda, led a delegation to Delhi in October last year and held discussions with Trivedi and officers of the Railway Board. Later, some Indian Railways officers visited Japan to get a firsthand understanding of the Shikansen system.

High-speed rail isn’t the only thing Japan is interested about in India. Indian Road Transport and Highways Minister C P Joshi says that Japan has also shown an interest in the Indian highways sector with a proposal to carry out a project that will connect Bangalore and Chennai. After meeting Takeshi Maeda, Joshi said that Japanese companies are keen to take up the Bangalore-Chennai highway construction.

On behalf of its infrastructure businesses, Japan will be exploring several opportunities to construct the highway. Joshi says that he and his officials told the Japanese government that they have a very transparent system, in which they will need to enter a bidding process. If they are interested in government-to-government basis, they will have to have discussions at a higher level – between the two nations’ Prime Ministers. He added that Japan’s premier Yoshihiko and India’s premier Manmohan Singh met and discussed an interest in the transport sector.

Andhra Pradesh: New Intercity Bus Terminal at Miyapur, Logistic Parks at Batasingaram & Mangalapally approved
http://www.orissadiary.com/Shownews.asp?id=31454
Hyderabad: The Chief Minister Mr N Kiran Kumar Reddy today wanted all the new projects being taken up by HMDA to be completed right on schedule. The Chief Minister who is also Chairman of HMDA today chaired the 4th meeting of the Authority at Secretariat. Municipal Administration Minister Mr. M Maheedhar Reddy, Mayor, GHMC, Mr. Mohd. Majid Hussain, Principal Secretary, MA&UD, Mr Sam Bob, Commissioner, HMDA, Rajesh Tiwari, MD, APIIC, B R Meena, Principal Secretary, R&B, S P Singh, MD, APSRTC, Prasada Rao, Commissioner, GHMC, M T Krishna Babu, Project Director, Outer Ring Road, Manicka Raj and other officials attended the meeting.

The Chief Minister today approved the Project of new Inter-City Bus Terminal at Miyapur on PPP mode. This is a one lakh sq.ft built up passenger terminal with 200 bus bays and platforms for outstation buses, with bus parking for 1,000 buses, 30 bus bays for city buses including fuel filling stations including CNG, dormitories for drivers, 2,3,4-wheeler parkings, budget hotel, medical and emergency facilities, police outpost facility, restaurants etc.

The meeting approved the logistic park at Batasingaram on Vijayawada highway (NH-9) in 40 acres. This will have the facilities for 500 truck parkings, 2 lakh sq.ft warehousing, 10,000 MTs of cold storage provision, automobile service centres, dormotories, restaurants fuel stations, commercial and office space, electronic weigh bridge and primary health centre etc. The meeting also approved the construction of logistic park at Managalapally on Nagarjunasagar Highway (about just 500 meters from ORR Bonguluru junction) in 22 acres of land. This will also have the facilities like 250 truck parkings, one lakh sq.ft warehousing facilites, cold storage facilities for 5000 MTs, automobile service centres, dormitories, restaurants, fuel stations, commercial and office spaces etc. The Chief Minister directed the officials to further speed the work on the Outer Ring Road and also work at Dindigul-Shamirpet stretch of the project.

The meeting also approved for further extension for suggestions and objections on the Draft Metropolitan Plan-2031 up to 21st February. The Draft Plan would also be translated in Urdu. The Chief Minister also reviewed the progress of works on Residential layout at Uppal Bhagath, Comprehensive transportation study for Hyderabad Metropolitan Area, completion Ramps work at on PVNR elevated Exspressway, innter ring road to Mylardevpally (via Laxmiguda, Jalpally and Mamidipally to Srisailam highway), status on construction of ROB across the Railway on Main Spinal road from KPHB to Hightech City, construction of Bridge across Musi River near Bapu Ghat, Hussainsagar lake and catchment are improvement and cleaning project and radial roads work.

Source: http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Hyderabad/article2807753.ece

Having completed sampling of nearly 5,500 households to assess their daily commuting patterns as part of Comprehensive Transportation Study (CTS), consultants for the study are now planning to rope in the help of local leaders and elected representatives for the initiative.

LEA Associates South Asia, which has taken up the comprehensive study to come up with solutions for the increasing traffic woes in the city on behalf of the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA), plans to cover 32,000 households for the survey by the month of March.

EXHAUSTIVE STUDY

In what could be described as the biggest and most exhaustive such study in the city, the survey looks at generating data for various parameters including average number of visits made in a day, distance travelled, purpose and mode of travel and the amount spent on it, among others.

“Certain reluctance on part of some households in responding to our investigators is observed. We are now thinking of approaching local leaders and elected representatives such as MPs, MLAs and also Corporators in facilitating the survey,” said T.S. Reddy, team leader for LEA Associates.

EXCUSES GIVEN

Some of the households that were approached excuse themselves from the survey citing “do not have time” and others are willing to give little information and not beyond. The questionnaire is exhaustive, running into six pages and seeks inputs from socio-economic status, employment to origin and destination of daily travel, time spent on travel and intermediate transfer of transportation modes if any.

“It is exhaustive and needs a couple of hours to fill in. But citizens need to cooperate with us since the effort ultimately is to find solution for the traffic and transportation problems faced by them,” Mr. Reddy said.

The household survey has been designed to cover 695 traffic zones of Hyderabad Metropolitan Area (HMA) spread over 7,190 square km and for the purpose, 300 investigators have been trained and put on the field. In terms of sampling also, this is the largest exercise in the city.

The last major sampling was done in the year 1986 and though few others were taken up in between, they were not that exhaustive in nature. “The survey in 1986 took a sample of 1.5 per cent of the population and we are also doing the same, but the population has grown up considerably since then,” an official added.

We need many subways between Kukatpally to Lingampally to cross the road safetly and one bridge in JNTU to reduce the trafffic in this area, and need of improvement in miyapur x road junction.

One Lakh square feet only ??... thats too less... 100,000 square feet is nothing... one floor of Central Mall will be around 50,000-70,000 sq ft... so when comparing this with a mega bus terminus... something is wrong.. I think it will be 1,000,000 sq ft... (one million square feet)

one lakh sq.ft built up [/B]passenger terminal with 200 bus bays and platforms for outstation buses, with bus parking for 1,000 buses,

Lingampally need proper bus stand and basic aminities like patencheru bus terminus. The no of servicesnincreased but there is no proper bus bays for buses.

http://ibnlive.in.com/news/rtc-plans-10-new-depots-in-greater-hyderabad/223092-60-121.html
RTC plans 10 new depots in Greater Hyderabad
HYDERABAD: In a bid to improve the facilities for its commuters and clear the rush time to time, the State Road Transport Corporation’s Greater Hyderabad region is planning to construct 10 new depots in the city’s suburban areas.
RTC officials are searching for either government or private lands to construct 10 new depots. Construction of each depot needs Rs 10 core excluding the cost of land. Already, six new depots are under construction at Bandlaguda, Kachiguda, Chengicherla, Musheerabad-3, Farooqnagar and Maheswaram in the region.
Executive director A Koteswara Rao said they were taking steps to provide better facilities to passengers and improve the revenue.
Speaking to reporters at his office here on Saturday, he said the�� region incurred Rs 90-crore loss between April and December last which translated into Rs 40 lakh a day.
Among the passenger-friendly measures being contemplated is providing free transport to those having reservation for long-distance journey and living in interior areas up to the main road. The corporation was thinking of providing bus services to new colonies, he said.

Let them replace the rickety old buses in hyderabad first.Those and the share autos have become an eyesore.I've been seeing those green buses since eternity in hyderabad. The only time that there was some positivity w.r.t. transportation in hyderabad was during naidu's time when he introduced the veera buses.Its been on a downslide ever since.

We need a seperate corportation like BMTC or Mtc in hyderabad city transport alone. this helps to improve the transport system.

SCR set to cross 100 MT cargo mark
http://ibnlive.in.com/news/scr-set-to-cross-100-mt-cargo-mark/224648-60-121.html
HYDERABAD: The South Central Railway will cross the 100-million-tonne cargo transport mark during the current financial year and is all set to join the elite club which comprises three zones at present.�Addressing a gathering of senior railway officials and staff on the occasion of the 63rd Republic Day at the Railway Sports Complex Grounds in Secunderabad here on Thursday, SCR general manager GN Asthana said SCR’s three focus areas were ensuring safety in train operation, improving financial performance and providing passenger amenities, and showed a commendable performance on these fronts.
He reaffirmed SCR’s commitment to ‘Zero-Compromise Policy on Safety’ and said security on 98 Express trains on sensitive� routes had been strengthened by deploying 337 RPF personnel. To further strengthen the security apparatus, Integrated Security System would be established soon at three high passenger density stations _ Secunderabad, Hyderabad and Tirupati _ and Closed-Circuit Security Surveillance System at other major stations.
He said SCR posted a healthy growth rate of 10 per cent in gross earnings and netted `5,837 crore.

........... To further strengthen the security apparatus, Integrated Security System would be established soon at three high passenger density stations _ Secunderabad, Hyderabad and Tirupati _ and Closed-Circuit Security Surveillance System at other major stations.

And what about Vijayawada, India's third and south India's busiest station I suppose? In AP state Vijayawada should be the first station to get Integrated Security System

City’s BRTS plan hits roadblock

Source: TOI (http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-02-02/hyderabad/31016830_1_brts-project-metro-rail-project-uppal-aramghar)
Nearly two years after a feasibility study was done on a Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) for the Rethibowli-JNTU, Kukatpally route, a special purpose vehicle is yet to be created to take the project forward.

It appears that the Municipal Administration and Urban Development (MA&UD) department is not too keen on the project. The Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority (UMTA), which is monitoring all traffic and transportation issues in the Hyderabad metropolitan region, is yet to give its nod to the formation of the special purpose vehicle. Interestingly, Vijayawada, which conceived its BRTS project in the same year as Hyderabad, has a special purpose vehicle in place.

For BRTS, a dedicated bus lane needs to be created on which other traffic is prevented from plying. The BRTS, which has been built on certain routes in Delhi and Pune needs roads with a minimum width of 150 feet. The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) had entrusted Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) with the job of carrying out a feasibility study on the 18-km Rethibowli-JNTU, Kukatpally stretch in 2009 after the organisation offered to do it for free. The CIDA report was submitted to GHMC and UMTA in 2009.

"The feasibility report includes environmental and social assessment study and preliminary designs. The state government has not taken up BRTS due to disturbances in the city, especially in the wake of hitches raised by the metro rail works for the last two years," a senior GHMC official said.

Officials said unless UMTA and MA&UD department give their approval for the Rethibowli-Kukatpally route, the GHMC cannot float the special purpose vehicle, which would include officials and representatives of the executing agency who will monitor the project.

The Rethibowli-Kukatpally corridor via Tolichowki, Gachibowli and Hi-Tec City, one of the busiest routes in the city, was chosen from among several other routes that were also considered for the BRTS project. Commuters, it was felt, would need mass transportation on the stretch as it is not covered by the proposed metro.

In 2006, the state government had proposed BRTS on five routes - Uppal-Mehdipatnam, Uppal-Aramghar, Aramghar-Mehdipatnam and Musi river north and south drives. However, the proposals were shelved as the routes were found to be unviable.

There are 52 major obstacles, including religious structures, on the 21 km Uppal-Mehdipatnam route while the Uppal-Aramghar stretch is not viable as the metro rail project has been extended up to Nagole with work on another corridor starting at LB Nagar. The PVNR Expressway became a hurdle for work on the Aramghar-Mehdipatnam route.

The other two routes - Musi river south and northern drives - were junked as traffic volume was low on these stretches.

224x extn Bolarum x road-lingampalli.

Source: http://ibnlive.in.com/news/some-trains-to-be-cancelled-regulated-on-sunday/229447-60-121.html

HYDERABAD: In view of construction of a Road Over Bridge on the Lingampalli-Begumpet-Vikarabad section, certain trains have been cancelled, short-terminated and regulated on February 12, 14, 16 and 19. The trains cancelled are Secunderabad-Vikarabad-Secunderabad passengers and HyderabadTandurHyderabad passenger trains on Feb 12, 14, 16 and 19.
Those cancelled are Lingampalli-Falaknuma MMTS at 13:00 hours, Hyderabad-Lingampalli MMTS at 11.25 hrs, Lingampalli-Hyderabad MMTS at 12.15 hrs, Hyderabad-Lingampalli MMTS at 10.50 hrs, Lingampalli-Hyderabad MMTS at 11.40 hrs, Falaknuma-Lingampalli MMTS at 11.10 hrs, Lingampalli-Falaknuma MMTS at 13.00 hrs and Falaknuma-Lingampalli MMTS at 12.05 hrs on Feb 12.
MMTS trains cancelled on Feb 16 include Hyderabad-Lingampalli at 11.25 hrs, Lingampalli-Hyderabad at 12.15 hrs, Hyderabad-Lingampalli at 10.50 hrs, Lingampalli-Hyderabad at 11.40 hrs, Falaknuma-Lingampalli at 11.10 hrs, Lingampalli-Falaknuma at 13.00 hrs and Falaknuma-Lingampalli at 12.05 hrs. Two special trains will run as special trains between Falaknuma-Secunderabad-Falaknuma.
Trains short terminated on February 12, 14, 16 and 19 are Guntur-Vikarabad-Guntur Palanadu Express which will terminate at Secunderabad and not run between Secunderabad and Vikarabad.
Trains regulated on February 12, 14, 16 and 19 include PuneSecunderabad Shatabdi Express which will be regulated for 15 minutes at Lingampalli and Bhubaneswar-Mumbai Konark Express will be staggered between Secunderabad-Lingampalli.

^^ Is this due to construction of Lingampalli flyover?

^^ Is this due to construction of Lingampalli flyover?

I would imagine so.

^^
But the ROB what u r discussing is after lingampalli station towards vikarabad side, so what is the need for cancelling the MMTS trains? I think the train cancellations are for ROB work at Hitech city station.

Yes, could be as the article also says L'palli-Begumpet

Source: http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Hyderabad/article2910927.ece

Before the advent of IT boom in the city, Mehdipatnam was relatively a calm area with mixed land use and lesser volume of traffic criss-crossing it.

SCENE CHANGE

The scene has changed in the last decade or so after locations such as Madhapur and Gachibowli came abuzz with IT and related activities, and Mehdipatnam emerged as a major transit point between the new areas of development and the erstwhile city core. Now it teems with vehicles of all sorts and the roads, clearly not designed for high traffic, woefully fall short of the needs.

UNSAFE STRETCHES

The Mehdipatnam bus terminal, heart of the area, is a clear example of the chaos that prevails in the entire area and how unsafe most stretches have turned for both motorists and also the pedestrians.

The Comprehensive Transportation Study (CTS) for Hyderabad Metropolitan Area taken up on behalf of Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) had taken a critical look at the prevailing conditions and came out with suggestions to improve the situation.

Based on reconnaissance and field surveys, consultants for the study, LEA Associates South Asia documented the high presence of the bus traffic and also the lack of safety aspects for the pedestrians.

According to the CTS Immediate Action Plan, approximately 20 per cent of the bus routes operating in the Hyderabad Metropolitan Area either originate/destine or pass through Mehdipatnam area. For about 170 bus routes, a whopping 7,200 bus trips pass through the bus terminal every day.

NO TRAFFIC RULES

The entire activity of vehicles of all forms gets accommodated in the constrained area and as the report pointed out, lacks order, discipline and adherence to necessary traffic rules.

An unorganised bus terminal causes conflict points between different modes of travel resulting in spillovers and unsafe condition for one and all.

MIXED LAND USE

With a mixed land use comprising residential, commercial, educational and transport, according to latest census, Mehdipatnam has a population of 1, 05,818 and as per the CTS study, approximately four lakh vehicular trips enter and exit the area on a daily basis.

The traffic circulation within the area is provided by Gudimalkapur, Laxminagar, Asifnagar, Langar Houz roads which function as distributors/collectors here.

Source: http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Hyderabad/article2921043.ece

A predominantly residential area, Vanasthalipuram lacks pedestrian facilities and traffic calming measure

On an average, 50 lives are lost in traffic accidents each year here. And if blame is to be apportioned, then bad condition, planning and improper usage of road stretches do not escape responsibility.

So pathetic are the conditions of road and traffic at Vanasthalipuram that about 150 accidents, with one-third of them ending up as fatalities, have been reported here for last five years. Highlighting this fact, the Comprehensive Transportation Study (CTS) taken up on behalf of the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) has called for appropriate measures to tackle the problem under its Immediate Action Plan report.

The study by LEA Associates South Asia pointed out that high speeds on the NH-9 contributed to unsafe conditions for pedestrians and vehicles alike and said that Vanasthalipuram, a predominantly residential area, lacked pedestrian facilities and necessary traffic calming measure.

The area is surrounded by three major roads, NH-9, Nagarjuna Sagar Road and the Ring Road, and has four important junctions i.e., Panama Junction, Sushma Theatre Junction, B.N.Reddy Colony Junction and FCI Colony Junction, for access.

“The roads/streets in the area are void off pedestrian facilities, and appropriate traffic regulating measures are suggested to ensure safe and efficient movement of traffic and pedestrians alike,” the CTS report recommends.

Under traffic characteristics, the study documented that nearly 2.50 lakh vehicles enter and exit the area on daily basis. Also, a total of 271 buses serve the area performing 2,935 trips on daily basis of which 1,175 trips cater to the patronage demand here. The transportation network, the report pointed out, lacked necessary facilities for a smooth, efficient and safe movement of the local residents.

PARKING WOES

The Immediate Action Plan of the study also recorded the oversaturated conditions prevailing at the Rythu Bazar apart from unorganised stalls, unregulated parking and heavy pedestrian demand often spilling over to the road.

The need for reorganising the space and enforcing a regulated parking were considered as urgently needed to improve the traffic flow.

The woes and risks of the local residents get compounded by unregulated truck parking along Byramalguda Bypass road. Given lack of designated bus terminal, the intercity bus operations occur along N-9 and the buses park randomly at any available space on the highway to pick up passengers.

Also, the vehicle speed along NH-9 is relatively considered to be on a higher range, thus worsening safety aspect further.

47LI secundrabad station-Infotech x road
via- paradise, begumpet, panjagutta, LV prasad, jubilee checkpost, hitech city, kothaguda, gachibowli x road.

^^
But the ROB what u r discussing is after lingampalli station towards vikarabad side, so what is the need for cancelling the MMTS trains? I think the train cancellations are for ROB work at Hitech city station.

I think it must be Guttalabegumpet which is the HItech city region

223/10KM SECUNDRABAD-PATENCHERUVU

Are the RTC new Ac buses(volvos) coming with electronic screen announcing next stop yet?

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/Train-ticket-counter-opened-at-Old-City-Post-Office/articleshow/12421813.cms

HYDERABAD: Residents of the Old City can henceforth book railway tickets at the Jubilee Head Post Office in Diwan Devdi area, opposite the Madina Hotel.

The Department of Posts (India Post) had given its clearance and the reservation facility is likely to be functional from April first week.

"The Department of Posts had signed an agreement with the Indian Railways in 2007 to allow reservation of railway tickets through computerised passenger reservation system (PRS) through identified post offices in the state. In Andhra Pradesh postal circle, the railway passenger reservation system (PRS) was first installed at the Hanamkonda Post Office in Warangal in 2008. Subsequently, it was extended to 29 other post offices statewide and six in the city," assistant postmaster general (financial service & business development) M Poornachandra Rao told TOI. "Passengers can book tickets at the counter, which will open between 8 am and 5 pm. Tatkal tickets too can be booked. However, they have to pay service charges. " the official said.

Mallapur-Lingampalli

Source; http://ibnlive.in.com/news/rtc-to-rope-in-shgs-to-run-buses-to-villages/244400-60-114.html

HYDERABAD: The Andhra Pradesh Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) is contemplating to rope in self-help groups for operating at least 1,000 buses to villages across the state where there is no bus facility. Speaking to newsmen, APSRTC vice-chairman and managing director B Prasada Rao said here on Friday that there are 5,000 villages in the state with no bus facility.
The RTC is preparing an action plan in association with Society for Elevation of Poverty to provide bus facility to these villages through the self-help groups.
While the SHGs would contribute 20 per cent margin money, the remaining amount would be financed by the banks.
The profits would be shared by the SHGs concerned.
The SHG members would be allowed to travel in the buses with 30 percent concession and the loan amount would be paid by the APSRTC.
Prasada Rao said the corporation incurred Rs 400 crore loss in 2011-2012 and the accumulated loss for the last few years was Rs 2,400 crore.
Stating that the corporation has inducted as many as 4,000 new buses including air conditioned at a cost of Rs 800 crore, he said that the state government has allocated Rs 200 crore to replace worn out buses.
The newly inducted buses include Vennela AC buses, Garuda plus (multiaxle), Indra and Palle Velugu buses.
He said about 15 to 20 new buses have been allotted to each depot in the state.
The RTC managing director said there are plans to operate 400 additional buses and some AC buses to Hitec city and Gachibowli areas in the city.
The RTC would purchase 500 ordinary and 50 AC buses to be operated in Hyderabad and 2,000 Palle Velugu buses to rural areas this year.
About the RTC entering cargo services, he said the proposal is with the government and after getting clearance the project would be taken up, he added.
RTC executive directors M Ravinder, B Jaya Raju and other officials were present.

Mallapur-Lingampalli

APSRTC is introducing six new routes connecting Hitec city, Madhapur from different areas in twin cities, for the convenience of IT employees.

The new routes are as follows: route No. 222 V (Lingampally – VBIT) and buses would be operated from Lingampally to VBIT Park via Allwyn crossroads, Cyber Towers, Raheja circle and ESCI.

Route No. 127 VB (Koti – VBIT), route No. 113 VB (Uppal – VBIT) buses would start from Uppal and reach VBIT via Vidya Nagar, VST, Baghlingampally, Narayanguda, Ladkikapul, Panjagutta, Nagarjuna circle, Jubilee Hills check post, Madhapur, Cyber Towers and TCS.

Route No. 195 (Bachupally-TCS) buses would start from Bachupally and reach TCS via Nizampet crossroads, Allwyn crossroads, Raheja Circle, IIIT and Wipro. Route No. 216 L/W (Lingampally – TCS) buses would be operated from Lingampally to TCS via HCU Depot, IIIT and Wipro and route No. 147 (ECIL crossroads- VBIT) buses would reach VBIT from ECIL via ECIL, Sainikpuri, Trimulghery, JBS, Panjagutta, Madhapur and Cyber Towers, said a press release.

Keywords: APSRTC, APSRTC new routes

source:The Hindu

186 KPHB-N.G.O. COLENY

APSRTC trailer bus runs as ordinary services between lingampally to Koti.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/Easy-ride-on-city-roads-soon-Greater-Hyderabad-Municipal-Corporation/articleshow/12696580.cms
Easy ride on city roads soon: Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation
HYDERABAD: The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has in principle agreed to fund the Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) for Hyderabad and even prepared a master plan for the project, Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) commissioner MT Krishna Babu has informed.

Speaking at a meeting on ITS, which was attended by RTC managing director B Prasada Rao, Hyderabad additional commissioner of police (Traffic) CV Anand and other officials, on Monday, he said GHMC would take up lane marking and signage in the entire city, including Roads and Buildings (R&B) roads. They also discussed the implementation of ITS and coordination among various departments. The consultants appointed by JICA gave a presentation about ITS Hyderabad.

The officials also reviewed the current traffic conditions, existing systems and future plans of each department to ease traffic congestion as per the master plan. Krishna Babu said the corporation has already taken up improvement of 200 junctions in Greater Hyderabad and extreme left side of the road would be be marked for buses.

Responding to a query of RTC chief Prasada Rao, the commissioner informed that APSRTC could take up construction of bus shelters without involving advertising agencies as was being done by the corporation. Krishna Babu said more bus shelters would be provided and the corporation was in the process of finalisation of construction of bus shelters and would be cleared only after a joint inspection with RTC and Traffic police.

The commissioner asked the managing director to provide a list of bus shelters which lack facilities so that GHMC would assign the job to agencies which maintain bus shelters.

P Suresh Raju, founder of a non-governmental agency Vaada, requested for the provision of pelican crossing on major roads and the GHMC commissioner said viability on major roads would be looked into.

Are there bus lanes in any other Indian cities? ^^

Source: http://ibnlive.in.com/news/better-times-ahead-for-commuters/249340-60-121.html

HYDERABAD: In a development that could help ease traffic congestion on city roads, various government departments on Monday decided to coordinate better to make the proposed Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) a success.
GHMC Commissioner� M T Krishna Babu,� APSRTC� Managing Director B Prasada Rao,� Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic) CV Anand and ORR� Project Director K Bhasker held a meeting and reviewed traffic conditions and future plans and vis-a-vis the HMDA master plan. The consultants appointed by the Japanese International Coopration Agency (JICA) gave a presentation about ITS Hyderabad. Previously, the works related to traffic management, junction improvements and provision of bus shelters etc, were being taken up by the heads of the departments concerned. With the ITS, all the parties involved have come on to one platform to take up these works.
The GHMC Commissioner informed that JICA has in-principle agreed to fund the project and prepared a master plan for its implementation. He said that GHMC will look after lane marking even though it is costlier.
During the meeting, it was felt that the bus tracks should be earmarked on the extreme left side of the road and the road marking should be displayed on signages and on roads as well. Responding to a query by Prasada Rao, the Commissioner suggested that the APSRTC can take up construction of bus shelters on charity basis without involvement of advertisements and he also informed that the finalisation of construction of bus shelters will be done only after the joint inspection of the departments concerned.
The Commissioner asked APSRTC to provide the list of bus shelters, which are without facilities, so that GHMC can contact the agency, and get the work done. The� Commissioner also informed that even GHMC is ready to take up the work on their own, depending on the urgency.
P Suresh Raju, Founder, Vaada (NGO) requested for the provision of pelican crossing on major roads and Commissioner, GHMC� promised to look into the pelican crossing study and see the viability on major roads along with HTRIMS in the first phase itself.

APSRTC will operate 22 AC buses to Interntional Airport from four different locations
Secundrabad-Airport via-begumpet,
KPHB 4 Phase-Airport-Malaysian township,
Secundrabad-Airport-Tarnaka,
VST-Airport-narayanaguda, will operate ata frequency of 30 minutes.

Aeroexpress facility from Uppal now




The Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA), Shamshabad, is now connected with Uppal. The Aeroexpress facility till RGIA from Uppal will start from Tuesday, April 24 at the new Aeroexpress bus shelter at Uppal.


Passengers in the surrounding areas including Uppal, Ramanthapur, Nagole and others can avail the Aeroexpress facility at the bus terminus located at Uppal cross roads.


The route of the Aeroexpress bus service is Secunderabad – Tarnaka - Uppal - LB Nagar – Airport and vice versa and the one way fare is Rs. 180, a press release said. Presently, the Aeroexpress bus service is operating to RGIA eight different locations in the capital - including Secunderabad, LB Nagar cross roads, Begumpet, Mehdipatnam, Secretariat, Kukatpally, Tarnaka and Hi-tech city.

RTC to run battery buses in Hyderabad (http://ibnlive.in.com/news/rtc-to-run-battery-buses-in-hyderabad/252162-60-121.html)

HYDERABAD: Commuters get ready for a ride on pollution free battery-operated buses from China. The AP Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) will introduce the buses in a few days in the city which, later, would be extended to other regions also.
The APSRTC is contemplating to operate a non-airconditioned battery bus on an experimental basis. The RTC informed that the bus will be imported from Photon company in China with the cooperation of Deccan Auto works in Hyderabad, and would be delivered to the city in one month.
With two batteries, one for running the bus and another as back up, the bus can cover a distance of up to 200 kilometres for each recharge.
The gear-less vehicle can sit 46 people.
Spare batteries along with recharging equipments will be kept at charging depots where ground staff will take up the maintenance work.
RTC official said that pollution free battery buses would cost around Rs 1 crore.
And the Centre would provide a subsidy up to 50 per cent under Ministry of Natural Resource Management (MNRM)scheme.
The buses will be the first of its kind for public transport in the country as such vehicles, till now, were being used by companies like BHEL and other important installations like airports.
The officials said that it would also be cost effective as the organization had been spending Rs 2,000 crores towards diesel for 22,500 existing buses. Meanwhile, they are also contemplating to set up solar panels to recharge the batteries at every depot to further reduce the power costs.
It is learnt that Ashok Leyland will be launching its battery buses on a trial basis in three months. If they prove successful, they will be available at cheaper prices.
It is in stark reminder to the fact that the APSRTC is facing a financial loss of Rs 2,700 crores owing to various reasons.
Although the officials introduced many reforms, they failed to turn the deficit.
They are putting their hope on the buses, an official said.

Hi All,

Any progress seen related to MMTS phase 2.

Intelligent Transportation System proposed for city

Source: The Hindu (http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Hyderabad/article3429879.ece)
http://img138.imageshack.us/img138/9066/hy18itseps1086420e.jpg

Hyderabad may well be the first city in the country to have the facility

Road conditions in different parts of the city at a click of mouse or status of traffic on a particular corridor just a SMS away.

Traffic snarls, water logging, road cutting or repair works on a stretch you have to travel can be checked before turning the ignition key of the vehicle.

A proposal to cover the entire city with Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) has been ‘agreed in principle' at the recent meeting of the Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority (UMTA). And according to the officials, when taken up, Hyderabad would have the distinction of being first city in the country to have such concept.

The proposal by the UMTA committee chaired by the Chief Secretary, Pankaj Dwivedi looked at the ITS Master Plan duly integrating with the Hyderabad Traffic Integrated Management System (H-TRIMS) already initiated by the GHMC and the GPS project of the APSRTC.

Setting up a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) for implementing the project has been suggested and the possibility of external funding including from Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) was mooted.

For the Outer Ring Road (ORR), it was already being worked out.

“Now, we are looking at implementing the concept inside the ORR area and cover at least 70 to 80 per cent of the traffic,” the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) Commissioner, Neerabh Kumar Prasad said.

Under the ITS concept, data collection units such as probes, CCTVs, traffic-detectors, water-depth gauge and pollution monitoring equipment would be installed in different points to collect real time information on traffic volume, weather, accident and disasters.

The bus probe system would keep updating real time information on location and movement of buses in different parts.

The dynamic monitoring of the traffic movement in the city would be done at a control room and same made available for dissemination as required by the road-users. The facility could be connected to the website for browsers to check road condition, traffic situation, water logging, processions or other issues on a given stretch and also made available to the mobile phone users in the form of message alerts or enquiry responses.

Boards displaying road conditions ahead with variable message sign (VMS) would also guide the traffic on choosing their routes.

“Those driving along a route will know what is ahead for them and if required can alter their drive plan,” said an official.

It will be a great benefit to the citizens of Hyderabad.
Intelligent Transportation System proposed for city

Source: The Hindu (http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Hyderabad/article3429879.ece)

The above article says Hyderabad may be the first city in India to implement it...But in Mysore 80% work has been done wrt to ITS and in a few months it will be in operation

The above article says Hyderabad may be the first city in India to implement it...But in Mysore 80% work has been done wrt to ITS and in a few months it will be in operation

By ITS its not just integrating the public transport(buses) but also all the traffic signals will be connected along with CCTV's across the city in such a way that people from a control room can direct traffic and people movement.

This ITS is better version of Bangalore's Traffic Management Centre.. Only its much more connected and more interventions are possible because traffic lights and their timings can be controlled from here.. Much like how Londons traffic lights were manipulated to convince the Olympic VIP's to win the bid for 2012 olympics. Link (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2143943/London-2012-organisers-admit-switching-traffic-lights-green-Olympic-VIPs-win-bid.html)

By ITS its not just integrating the public transport(buses) but also all the traffic signals will be connected along with CCTV's across the city in such a way that people from one control room and direct traffic and people movement.

This ITS is better version of Bangalore's Traffic Management Centre.. Only its much more connected and more interventions are possible because traffic lights and their timings can be controlled from here.. Much like how Londons traffic lights were manipulated to convince the Olympic VIP's to win the bid for 2012 olympics. Link (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2143943/London-2012-organisers-admit-switching-traffic-lights-green-Olympic-VIPs-win-bid.html)

ITS in bangalore is yet to be implemented by BMTC,first would be Mysore.BTW Bangalore already has CCTVs monitoring traffic signals...

http://www.btis.in/

Mysore also has signals which operate on traffic density using sensors

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpost.php?p=82665138&postcount=302

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpost.php?p=82665161&postcount=303

Any DPR available on the Hyd ITS?

ITS in bangalore is yet to be implemented by BMTC,first would be Mysore.BTW Bangalore already has CCTVs monitoring traffic signals...

http://www.btis.in/

Mysore also has signals which operate on traffic density using sensors

Any DPR available on the Hyd ITS?

Isn't btis.in just a private website integrating information from all sources.. They have a http://www.htis.in/ is as well that shows info on Hyderabad traffic signals. They maintain info on other cities as well

There are CCTV here also that catch people and fine people.. But all these things are being integrated for more benefits. There is already a project by Traffic Police called H-TRIMS in progress that aims to replace all the major signals in Hyderabad. This ITS is an extension of that,

Cant find any DPR... Basically they are bringing all the departments together(Bus transport, GHMC, HMDA,Traffic Police to bring about more meaningful road transport system)

H-TRIMS

About 233 Junctions (Old+New) in Hyderabad are being replaced by new signals that are connected centrally to a control room from where they can be operated. New cameras are also being set up to help in the management. Apart from core city ORR is also connected


Postnoon Article: http://postnoon.com/2012/03/12/smart-signals-to-light-up-your-day/36746

Tender Document-Link (http://www.apts.gov.in/Tenders/HTRIMS%20Prebid%20Minutes%20%2005-08-2011Released.pdf)

ITS- The news article from The Hindu has everything about ITS that is available to the public

http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Hyderabad/article3429879.ece

thanks for the info :)

RTC boss inspects Jubilee bus station (http://ibnlive.in.com/news/rtc-boss-inspects-jubilee-bus-station/261627-60-114.html)

HYDERABAD: AP State Road Transport Corporation vice-chairman and managing director AK Khan made surprise visit to the Jubilee Bus Station in Secunderabad on Friday and checked the punctuality of bus services, amenities to passengers and cleanliness of the premises.
He also interacted with the drivers of Indra, Vennela and some other services, and passengers and enquired about their problems. Later, he inspected the staff rest rooms, platforms, stalls and canteens.
Speaking to reporters later, he said Jubilee Bus Station was the biggest in the state and he wanted see the facilities available there. He said he would visit all important bus stations and terminals in the city soon before turning his attention to bus stations in districts.
He said he would make special efforts to improve the financial condition of the corporation.

More buses for Group-I exam (http://ibnlive.in.com/news/more-buses-for-groupi-exam/261626-60-114.html)

HYDERABAD:� APSRTC’s Greater Hyderabad Zone has decided to operate additional buses for the convenience of candidates appearing for the AP Public Service Commission-1 Prelims written examination to be held from 10.30 am to 1 pm on May 27. According to executive director A Koteswara Rao, the additional buses, apart from the regular buses, will touch all the examination centres and appealed to Group-1 candidates to avail the transport facility.
The APPSC has made all arrangements for the smooth conduct of� Group-I preliminary exam on Sunday across the state from 10.30 a.m. to 1 p.m. About 3 lakh candidates are competing for 314 posts at 740 centres. The results would be announced in the last week of June. APPSC had also announced the schedule of Group-I main examination which would be held from September 3 to 12.

New Service
Apsrtc introduces new service between koti-kandi via patencheruvu.

RTC seeks government nod to hike bus fares
(http://expressbuzz.com/cities/hyderabad/RTC-seeks-government-nod-to-hike-bus-fares/396091.html)
HYDERABAD: The Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) is contemplating to seek clearance from the state government to hike bus fares as and when the prices of diesel goes up.
Karnataka Transport Corporation has obtained such clearance from their state government.
Citing this, the APSRTC also wants to plead with the state government to allow them to hike fares commensurate with the hike in prices of diesel.
The APSRTC is facing severe financial crisis and its losses have touched Rs 2,700 crore mark apart from liabilities and bank loans.
The reason for incurring huge losses was increase in employees’ salaries, maintenance cost and diesel prices.
According to officials the diesel prices have increased 13 times in the last six years and that left a burden of Rs 550 crore on the stateowned corporation.
When SSP Yadav was the vice-chairman and managing director of the APSRTC, bus fares have been hiked netting an additional revenue of Rs 550 crore.
But at the same time the RTC has also hiked employees’ salaries as a result what it earned by hiking the fares compensated the hike in salaries.
In 2011, the APSRTC had proposed to hike bus fares due to increase in diesel prices but the government restricted it to a very marginal hike.
According to information oil companies were planning to hike diesel prices in the near future which has become a cause for worry for the RTC.
There are 22,000 buses in the corporation and the diesel consumption is 5 crore litres per month costing about Rs 44.50 crore.
The RTC officials expect Rs 1,000 crore gap between income and expenditure in the 2012-2013 budget, though bus occupancy ratio was 72 percent.
One official said if the government gives the nod to hike the fares as and when there is a hike in diesel price, it would be major relief to the corporation.

Lakdikapul bridge work


End of the road for Lucky restaurant (http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-andhrapradesh/article3478879.ece)

http://img442.imageshack.us/img442/3497/31hyvgn01luckygr1100522.jpg

Another one bites the dust. Lucky restaurant, a favourite hang out for many citizens in the past, is being razed.

Though it has been a while since the eating joint, well known for the ubiquitous biryani besides the regular Irani café stuff like tea-biscuits, small samosas etc - was shut, it did revive some old memories as the structure was pulled down to facilitate road widening on Thursday.

The erstwhile café along with five other properties were taken over by the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) as part of its long standing plan to widen the space on the left splay of the congested junction leading to the Lakdikapul road over bridge.

The site has become major traffic bottleneck in the last few years because of the delay in taking up the second bridge atop the railway tracks beneath beside the old one.

Bridge nearing completion

The new bridge constructed jointly by the municipal corporation and the South Central Railway (SCR) is nearing completion.

Roads leading to the new bridge on both sides too are getting ready.

While the land belonging to the Intelligence Wing was taken over long time ago, the civic body has managed to pay compensation to the property owners on the other side after many months of delay, awaiting the standing committee clearance and the government. “We are also planning to acquire five to six properties after the Lakdikapul junction to widen the main road so that there is a uniform width of 120 ft. Public representatives too have agreed to the proposal as the road for a small stretch is about 70 ft on either side,” explained Additional Commissioner (Planning & Projects) K. Dhananjaya Reddy.

GHMC had originally made plans to widen the road from NMDC junction to S.D. Eye Hospital uniformly for 120 ft. The width on this stretch varies between 80ft-100 ft and the work was proposed to tackle the expected increased flow of traffic on the road once the P.V.N.R. Expressway was thrown open. It did not happen for various reasons including funds crunch and continues to be put on hold.

http://www.asianage.com/hyderabad/transport-plan-have-it-voice-497
Transport plan to have IT voice
The new transport plan for the Hyderabad metropolitan area spread over about 7,000km :banana:will be drawn after information technology companies, industries, builders, developers, and educational institutions have had a say in it. The projected economic activities of these companies and institutions will be taken into account in the finalisation of the plan, which focuses on the roads, the integration of bus and rail routes, connectivity to the IT corridor from various parts of the city, link roads to the Outer Ring Road, Inner Ring Road and radial roads, besides shuttle services to workplaces.
Greater Hyderabad needs a transport plan that meets the requirements of the IT sector, according to Hari Kumar, executive director, IT and ITes Association of And-hra Pradesh. IT professionals prefer MMTS trains to buses, even though the link services from rail stations to the workplaces are non-existent. There are 2 lakh people working in various IT and ITes companies located in the Madhapur, Hitec City and Gachibowli areas. They come mainly from Uppal, LB Nagar, Vanasthalipuram, and ECIL.
There is neither a direct bus service nor a railway line to the IT corridor from these areas. Mr Hari Kumar pointed out: “The transport plan should introduce shuttle services from the Hitec city railway station to a main centre suitable for IT company employees, with direct bus services from all corners of the city.” It is imperative to decongest the stretch from Punjagutta to Hitec city and Gachibowli via Jubilee Hills.
The IT companies apart, Hyderabad and Ranga Reddy district are a hub of engineering and other professional colleges, many of which are located on the city outskirts, says K.V.K. Rao, secretary general, Consortium of Engineering and Profes-sional Colleges. Both bus and railway services cater to less than 20 per of the students from these colleges, whereas direct transport services from an epicentre in the city would help dramatically, Mr Rao notes.
Unplanned growth in the city has made transportation a major problem, according to Ch. Shekhar Reddy, of the Confederation of Real Estate Developers Associ-ation of India. He pointed out that the city had some laudable features, like the 160 km Outer Ring Road (ORR), a 56 km Inner Ring Road (IRR), and 30-odd radial roads connecting the two, which ought to be optimised.
The Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority, in association with LEA Associates, is putting together the new transport plan. It has conducted meetings with the stake holders besides conducting a survey of 30,000 households. HMDA commissioner Neerabh Kumar Prasad asked LEA Associates to have wider consultations with stakeholders with economic activities in the Hyderabad Metropolitan Area.
As per HMDA records the city’s transportation requirement is now largely met by: bus transport (42 per cent), rail-based Multi Modal Transport System (MMTS) (1.5 per cent), three-seater and seven-seater autos (8 per cent), private vehicles (48.5 per cent).

Finally, footpaths to pedestrian freedom

Source: postnoon (http://postnoon.com/2012/06/03/finally-footpaths-to-pedestrian-freedom/51817)
http://img571.imageshack.us/img571/7195/finallyfootpathstopedes.jpg

Road No11 and 12 Banjara Hills, Road No 36 Jubilee Hills, the road opposite Salar Jung and the Himayatnagar road — will have model footpaths in accordance with international standards

After facing many years of discomfort, the pedestrians of Hyderabad have a reason to cheer. The GHMC decided last year that five roads —Road No11 and 12 Banjara Hills, Road No 36 Jubilee Hills, the road opposite Salar Jung Museum and the Himayatnagar road — will have model footpaths in accordance with international standards. With the designs and budget in place, the real question is when will the project be completed and become functional.

The details are currently being ironed out at present and work has begun on Road No 36 Jubilee Hills. The work has begun on the other five roads as well. While constructing these footpaths, special interest has been given to conserve biodiversity. Attempts have been made to include the flora in the areas where the footpaths are being constructed.

R Dhan Singh, Engineer in Chief for GHMC, says, “The work has just begun; we are doing a stretch at a time so that the quality of work will be effective and long-lasting.”

Along with the five main roads that are scheduled to get footpaths, the already-existing footpaths are being revamped and all manholes, and other potholes are being smoothened out.

Sakina Hamza, a student, sa*ys, “It’s a good thing that these footpaths are being made, but what I am curious to see is if the footpaths are going to be used by pedestrians or will hawkers enc*roach. I guess the only thing is to wait and watch.” Another student, Ravi M, is happy, and says, “I am happy that people will get a proper place to walk, especially in places like Banjara and Ju*bilee Hills where the traffic does not slow down and give way.”

These standard/model footpaths are going to prove a boon to pedestrians of the twin cities and many accidents can be avoi*d*ed thanks to these footpaths.

Who foots the bill?

The location of sidewalk construction should be based on pedestrian needs, safety and affordability. With limited resources available for construction and maintenance, the municipality needs to optimise available funding to meet the greatest needs in the community. Once a sidewalk has been constructed within the public right-of-way, the municipality assumes the maintenance, rehabilitation, and replacement costs.

Importance of sidewalks

Safe, accessible, aesthetically pleasing sidewalks are an important component of the municipality’s urban infrastructure. It is important to provide sidewalk users with safe accessible areas for walking outside of the traffic area. Deteriorating sidewalks can create hazards that affect public safety and liability.

Service life

The average service life of a sidewalk depends on a variety of factors including environmental conditions, materials, design standards, construction quality, and maintenance standards:
Concrete – 80 years
Interlocking paving stones – 80 years
Asphalt – 40 years

Benefits of good sidewalks

Attractive and functional sidewalks promote the healthy exercise of walking and reduce reliance on vehicular transportation.
Appropriate design and construction facilitates the use of sidewalks by mobility and visually impaired users.
The use of strollers, and other wheeled family recreational equipment can be comfortably accommodated.
The risk of injury to users is reduced.

Factors to be considered

Addition of transit or school bus routes
Providing access for the elderly and persons with disabilities
Continuity of sidewalks (avoid missing sections of sidewalk where possible)
Increased pedestrian volumes
Addition of new facilities including schools, institutions, parks, and sports complexes
The presence of other pedestrian generators (library, community centre, place of worship, hospital, shopping precinct or mall)
Vehicle speed, traffic, and truck volumes
Collision data related to pedestrians
Existing sidewalk on the other side of the street
Weather implications
Type of roadway shoulder and width
Population density
The projects that are likely to come up in the area and their possible impact on sidewalks.

The picture shown in the baove article is really encouraging. BTW, what approach will they take to build those sidewalks on J Hills Rd #36? The road is already a 3+3 surface street with two ~10t sidewalks as of 2009 (last time I was there). Will they double the width of the sidewalks and reduce the road to a 2+2, or will they use eminent domain to demolish buildings and expand the sidewalks?

The picture shown in the baove article is really encouraging.

+1

RTC to increase use of TIMs to cut cost
(http://newindianexpress.com/cities/hyderabad/article534822.ece)
The Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation is contemplating the introduction of ticket issuing machines (TIMs), to be operated by drivers themselves. This would obviate the need for conductors and thus help the corporation save money, at a time when it is facing a monumental loss of Rs 3,000 cr.

According to a senior RTC official, the corporation was focusing on reducing expenditure by ushering in reforms.

As per the 5-year-plan of the corporation, it is proposing to introduce more number of TIMs in all buses instead of appointing conductors. As of now, there are as many as 11,000 TIMs that are being operated by drivers in APSRTC. The RTC is operating as many as 22,500 buses through 210 depots across the state. At present the staff strength is about 1.20 lakh.

As many as 2,000 conductor posts are going to fall vacant in the next 5 years and the corporation, instead of filling the vacancies, will introduce TIMs.

The drivers will be given special incentives for holding additional responsibility of acting as a conductor. But the employees unions are apparently not very enthused about the proposal. NMU president M Nageswara Rao said they would not agree to the RTC’s proposal. “If the RTC wants to overcome losses, let them find other ways. Scrapping the posts of conductors is not the way.”

Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train may soon become reality
(http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/industry-and-economy/logistics/article3512033.ece)
Bullet trains may soon become a reality in India with the government giving its nod to the proposal of a high-speed rail corridor between Mumbai and Ahmedabad, which would reduce the travel time between the two financial hubs to two-and-half hours from seven hours.

“The 492-km-long Mumbai-Ahmedabad rail route is going to have the first bullet train as the proposed high-speed rail corridor has got the green signal in a high level meeting presided by the Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh recently,” a senior Railway Ministry official said.

The proposed bullet train with a speed of 300 km per hour would drastically bring down the travel time of passengers frequenting these two vital and financially strong cities to a mere two-and-half hours from seven hours by Duronto, the fastest train at present.

“The high speed elevated rail corridor, which will be a stimulus for the development of satellite towns, will later be extended to Pune,” the official said.

The project is estimated to cost Rs 60,000 crore the Railways is considering various options for its execution.

“While one option is to execute it on a PPP model, the other is to opt for tying up with another country on government to government model...The funding pattern has not been decided yet,” the official said.

There are many countries like Japan, Germany, France and China which are known for high-speed train technology.

There are seven high-speed corridors which have got in-principle approval. Besides Mumbai-Ahmedabad, others are Delhi-Chandigarh-Amritsar, Pune-Mumbai-Ahmedabad, Hyderabad-Dornakal-Vijayawada-Chennai, Howrah-Haldia, Chennai-Bangalore-Coimbatore-Trivandrum and Delhi-Agra-Lucknow-Allahabad-Patna.

The Railways has already taken up pre-feasibility study of these routes.

Rail Budget 2012-13 had also proposed to take up the study for the a new corridor of Delhi-Jaipur-Ajmer-Jodhpur.

State governments and financial institutions are expected to be stakeholders of the high speed rail corridor project as these projects will be executed through PPP mode.

Waywardness of drivers curbed
(http://postnoon.com/2012/07/04/waywardness-of-drivers-curbed/57296)
http://postnoon.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Waywardness_of_drivers_curbed_postnoon_news-435x292.jpg

You can expect better behaved RTC drivers in the coming days, promise authorities. However, death on road involving buses has shown no improvement

Over the years the APSRTC buses have earned notoriety as the ‘killer on wheels,’ and to tame this dragon, serious efforts have been taken in the past two years. Yet, the toll remains high. Deaths involving RTC buses till June- end is half of the previous year.

The number of deaths involving RTC buses stands at 42 till June, which is precisely half the number of deaths last year — 84. But the transport authorities and traffic police are optimistic of bringing the fatalities considerably down in the days ahead.

“Accidents involving RTC buses have come down drastically, following the number of initiatives,” claim the authorities.

They admit the death toll remain disturbingly high but making bus bays, training programme for drivers, employing guides from the 24 depots across the City, and slapping spot challans on the erring drivers have begun to show salutary effect on the general behaviour of the RTC bus driver, they point out.

Building bus bays has been an important initiative to curb fatalities. But lack of discipline of drivers is defeating the purpose, officials observed.

To control this situation the traffic police started penalising erring drivers who have a penchant to stop the bus anywhere except for the bus bay. “Passengers scramble after the bus that stops ahead or before the bus bay,” observed a regular commuter, Raghav Reddy.

For a change, drivers are being penalised with ‘direct challans’ for violating the guidelines. Even though some 6,500 drivers and 200 RTC guides undertook training, conducted by the traffic police in April and May this year, the number of challans issued recorded a staggering 774.

While increasing vehicular population and shrinking road infrastructure are blamed for many accidents, engaging ‘contract’ drivers who lack training and experience too is pointed out as a major contributing factor.

“An RTC bus has bumped into several vehicles on Road No12 a few months ago, injuring scores of people, some of them seriously. Later it came to light that the driver was on contract,” recalls, Rajneesh, a resident of Banjara Hills.

When brought to the notice of the RTC official, he acknowledged that there might be some drivers involved in negligence, but training programme undertaken recently has revealed negligence, not lack of efficiency is often the reason for accident.

“It was several months ago that drivers violated the traffic rules, now things have changed a lot. A complete one month programme was conducted on the drivers. Even after this if some drivers violated traffic rules, it would be crass negligence on their part”, said Venkateshwar Rao, Regional manager APSRTC.

As part of the measures to reduce number of road accidents involving RTC buses, the Traffic police has ordered 1,000 more barricades to be installed in different parts of the City. There are a total of 50 permanent, 137 mobile and 150 places on roads, inscribed as ‘Bus bay’.

“We are taking action against the buses violating the traffic rules. We believe that number of instances of traffic violation have come down. With the installation of some more barricades we shall ensure that the number of accidents is reduced,” said M K Singh, DCP (Traffic).

The APSRTC will begin a zero accident week from July 16 to July 22, said APSRTC managing director AK Khan. This will help create awareness amongst the driver community on road safety measures. The week will see distribution of leaflets and meetings will be conducted for depot managers to educate drivers about safe driving. Lectures on road safety are also being organised besides counseling. Vehicles will be put to thorough testing. Each driver will be told about safety measures especially to avoid the use of mobiles while driving. According to Khan, RTC has registered 2,879 accidents during 2010-11, the cases came down to 2,473 in 2011-12. There is an overall reduction but they want to bring this to zero, he said.

Line block of Moulali- Malkajgiri- Seetaphalmandi chord line to facilitate construction of RUB at Alugadabbai - http://scr.indianrailways.gov.in/view_detail.jsp?lang=0&dcd=1358&id=0,4,268

http://img259.imageshack.us/img259/2569/mymap2.jpg

The Violet Dots are the transit points. Taramati Baradari is also a transit point and can be used as a starting point for all tours to the Golcanda Fort and Qutub Shahi Tombs.

^^Inspired from the Batobus of Paris (http://www.batobus.com/english/index.htm)


http://img404.imageshack.us/img404/8271/bbus2.jpg
http://img507.imageshack.us/img507/683/bbus3.jpg



Some more images
http://img607.imageshack.us/img607/61/bbus4.jpg
http://img337.imageshack.us/img337/7500/bbus.jpg

http://img259.imageshack.us/img259/2569/mymap2.jpg

The Violet Dots are the transit points. Taramati Baradari is also a transit point and can be used as a starting point for all tours to the Golcanda Fort and Qutub Shahi Tombs.

PERFECT. IS SOMEBODY LISTENING TO THIS FANTASTIC PLAN.

^^ There could be another link to this route from Himayatsagar as well.

Andhra Pradesh RTC embarks on safety drive
(http://www.thehindu.com/news/states/andhra-pradesh/article3675728.ece)

http://www.thehindu.com/multimedia/dynamic/01153/HY24RTC2_1153362f.jpg

Expressing concern at the number of road accidents and lives lost, Vice-Chairman and Managing Director of the A.P. State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC), A.K. Khan, said being vigilant every moment at the wheel was something that drivers had to inculcate as a way of life.

Recalling that a majority of accidents took place due to human error, he said defensive driving was the need of the hour. “You cannot say that you were careful on the road and did not commit a mistake. It takes effort to avoid a situation even when the driver of the vehicle coming opposite is in the wrong,” he told drivers at the Ranigunj depot, after inaugurating an ‘Accident-Free Week’, in the presence of Transport Commissioner Sanjay Kumar. It was a proud moment for Md. Kaleemuddin, a driver of the Musheerabad I depot here when he was felicitated for having an unblemished, accident-free record of 34 years. Fourteen others were given Road Safety Awards. At the corporation level, Md. Ibrahim of Bodhan depot had a record of 35 years.

Hyderabad: Auto fares may go up from next month
(http://ibnlive.in.com/news/hyderabad-auto-fares-may-go-up-from-next-month/274944-62-131.html)
Hyderabad: The Road Transport Authority (RTA) has proposed a hike in auto fares. It is planning to send it for the government’s approval this weekend. If the proposal comes into effect, a minimum distance of 1.6 km will be charged at Rs 16 or Rs 17 (at present, it is Rs 14) and Rs 9.50 for every additional km. According to the RTA officials, they have considered auto fares in other states before arriving to the revision. They held meeting with representatives of auto unions on the issue.
Auto fares were last revised in 2010 after an increase in the prices of petrol and LPG. The Auto Drivers’ Union had served a notice on the transport department on July 19 demanding a hike in the fares. They also warned the government that if they do not consider their demands they will go on strike from August 1.
The Auto Unions’ leaders B Venkatesam, M Kamalakar Reddy, V Kiran, Mohamed Amanullah and others alleged that the government had gone back on its assurances of keeping the auto fares in consistent with the hike in petrol prices. In last 19 months, petrol prices have gone up Rs 12 a litre and Rs 5 a kg for LPG prices, they added. They said the neighbouring state Karnataka hiked its auto fares from 12 March and the minimum fare is Rs 20 there whereas Rs 11 is charged for every kilometre.

http://static.ibnlive.in.com/ibnlive/pix/sitepix/04_2012/auto_strike_ncp.jpg

According to an official record, there are as many as 5.5 lakhs autos in the state, among them 75,500 are plying in greater Hyderabad limits.

Bus depot inaugurated at Bandlaguda

The Andhra Pradesh Road Transport Corporation on Wednesday inaugurated a new bus depot at Bandlaguda from where 108 buses will be operated.
The Bandlaguda bus depot has been constructed at a cost of Rs 20 crore.
The starting point of the depot’s buses will be LB Nagar and Uppal crossroads, which would relieve the heavy congestion of passengers flowing into the different part of the city,” said RTC Greater Hyderabad zone executive director Koteswara Rao.

In view of the ever-increasing demand for buses, RTC plans to commission 10 more bus depots in Greater Hyderabad limits. Initially, bus depots will be set up at Kahcheguda (behind railway station) and another at Chengicherla (beyond Uppal).

Speaker for ‘green public transport policy’
(http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Hyderabad/article3699397.ece)

http://www.thehindu.com/multimedia/dynamic/01159/HY29BUILDING_1159441f.jpg

‘Needs of pedestrians and even the ubiquitous auto-rickshaws should be taken into consideration’

A cogent green public transport that takes into consideration the needs of pedestrians and even the ubiquitous auto-rickshaws was necessary for the city, observed Speaker of the A.P. Legislative Assembly, N. Manohar, on Friday.

Stating that cities were the engines of growth and the public transport was its engine, the Speaker pointed out that clarity of vision was needed as most cities were facing the common problems of rapid urbanisation. While the metro rail will make lives more comfortable, he felt that it has to be ‘packaged’ with other modes of transport including bus, land rail, autos and bicycles.

Mr. Manohar was the chief guest at the South Zone conference of the Institute of Town Planners, India, with the theme of ‘Sustainable solutions to tackle congestion for better liveable city’.

The Minister for Municipal Administration, M. Maheedhar Reddy, wanted the urban planning to facilitate growth with ‘implementable’ master plans. The tendency to allow land use changes even after the Master Plan is notified should be avoided.

His Principal Secretary B. Sam Bob too spoke on the same vein and said though land use changes were needed even after a Master Plan is notified, it should be only under exceptional circumstances. His colleague, Principal Secretary (R&B) S.P. Singh recounted the story behind the successful grounding of the biggest ever metro rail project on the public, private partnership mode.

Proper planning was the answer for tackling traffic issues and mobility in cities rather than blame GHMC or Traffic police. Cities now compete globally for investments, he said, underscoring the need to prepare for more population influx into urban areas.

“Phase one of metro project is just the beginning as there are going to be more lines and routes,” he said. ITPI President D.S. Meshram, Secretary General Pradeep Kapoor, A.P. Chapter Chairman K. Anand Babu and Hon.Secretary K. Purushotham Reddy, also spoke.

City requires multi-modal public transportation system

Considering the transportation requirements for the next 30 years in the city, the Comprehensive Transportation Study (CTS) undertaken by an agency will be recommending to the government in September this year a multi-modal public transportation system. This was indicated at a workshop held at FAAPCI on Friday.

Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic) C V Anand emphasised the need for better coordination among various departments for the success of the plan. He suggested development of new public transport corridors in the city’s high-density nodes to ease the traffic flow.

The use of metro rail had become a necessity, with its use increasing manifold in the last two years. Currently1.5 to 2 lakh people travel by the metro daily. After the commissioning of MMTS Phase II, there could be some relief from the traffic woes, said CV Anand.

John Long of LEA Associates South Asia Private Ltd, the agency involved in CTS, said that the possibilities like rapid bus transit system, light rail and metro on grade could be explored. Also, there would be need for the extension of the metro corridor, apart from developing an inner ring road and intermediate ring roads, he said.
The issue of roads being unsafe for pedestrians should be addressed in the transportation plan, it was suggested.

The increase in the number of vehicles each year and the stagnation of the low percentage of road area compared to the total area of the city at 9 percent was a major traffic management challenge. There was need to focus on the development of radial roads and remove traffic bottlenecks like electric poles and religious structures in the middle of the road. This would help add 20 percent more road space, it was suggested.

Source (http://www.thehansindia.info/News/Article.asp?category=5&subCategory=1&ContentId=77981)

Prefer public transport to ease traffic: study
(http://www.thehansindia.info/News/Article.asp?category=5&subCategory=1&ContentId=78419)

http://www.thehansindia.info/Updates/2012/Aug/6/hyd.JPG
There is a need to increase people’s dependence on public transport. Although vehicular traffic has increased manifold over the last 10 years, the percentage of people travelling by bus has remained more or less constant. It has in fact dipped slightly in the last four years.

According to the findings of LEA Associates, which is preparing a Comprehensive Transportation Study in association with the Traffic police and the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA), barely 2.6 per cent of the city’s vehicular traffic comprises buses that carry about 34.1 per cent of the commuters.

The number of buses in the city grew by 13 per cent between the years 1999 and 2012. The dependence on buses has flattened off by 2 to 3 per cent over the 10 years.

On the contrary, around the same time, the number of two-wheelers in the city increased by 150 per cent. According to traffic officials two- and four-wheelers were adding to the city’s ever increasing traffic.

The city desperately needs commuters more dependent on public modes of transport and there was need to increase their dependence on buses. “As a result, a good number of commuters who can afford two- wheelers are opting out of buses, which is not the case in other cities across the globe,” said the Associates.

The present population of the twin cities stands at eight million and is projected to touch 13.64 million by 2021. Currently, over 2.8 million personalised vehicles ply on Hyderabad roads, with an addition of 0.20 million vehicles every year.

Eight million motorised trips are made every day, of which only about 3.36 million, or 42 per cent, are made by public transportation system or buses and local trains. Given the ever-growing traffic woes in the twin cities, the upcoming Hyderabad Metro Rail would prove to be a boon, but that would not solve the whole problem, as the metro rail would be serving over 40 per cent of the commuters.

There is a dire need to increase the dependence of commuters on public transportation in which the RTC has to play an important role by attracting passengers.

C.V. Anand is back in action

http://www.thehindu.com/multimedia/dynamic/01167/HY06C_V__ANAND_1167444f.jpg

http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Hyderabad/article3734606.ece

Meet on total transportation plan for Hyderabad
(http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-08-10/hyderabad/33136559_1_public-transport-transportation-plan-transport-system)
HYDERABAD: The consultant appointed to undertake the Comprehensive Transportation Study (CTS) for Hyderabad Metropolitan Region (HMR) has been asked to consider the proposed expansion at the city's IT hub as also the plan to shift industrial units outside Outer Ring Road.

The LEA group, consultant for the CTS, on Thursday made a presentation to representatives of various departments on the transportation study at the Hyderabad Metro Rail Limited (HMRL) offices. The study is being taken up by Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) with financial assistance from other departments.

'Bar heavy vehicles from entering city' (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/Bar-heavy-vehicles-from-entering-city/articleshow/15469937.cms)

HYDERABAD: A public interest litigation petition was filed in the AP High Court urging it to direct the authorities not to construct metro rail infrastructure in areas where heritage structures are located in Hyderabad city. The petition was filed by OM Debora and V K Bhava of forum for good governance expressing apprehensions about the future of heritage structures and important monuments in Charminar, Assembly, Mojamjahi market etc if the authorities are allowed to have their way in the metro rail project. They did not think about these structures while visualizing a metro rail for the city, the petitioners said. They wanted a direction to the authorities to take the metro rail through underground in such areas as was done in Bangalore and Delhi cities.

The petitioners mentioned in their plea that there are 14 important historical structures in the Miyapur- LB Nagar, Jubilee bus station to Falaknuma and between Nagole to Silparamam routes of metro rail and said that these structures are likely to be damaged if the metro is allowed to pass by them. The HC is likely to take it up on Monday for hearing.

Hyderabad: A public interest litigation that was filed on Thursday sought the intervention of the high court in preventing heavy vehicles from entering the Hyderabad city.

Ghan Syam Ojha of Karimnagar and Manish Tiwari of Hyderabad filed this plea. The very purpose of constructing outer ring road in the city was to ease the traffic pressure on city roads. Despite spending huge money for constructing ORR, it was not being used properly resulting in traffic chaos on the city roads, the petitioners said. They want the heavy and medium vehicles to take the ORR route and ease the traffic on city roads a direction to the authorities to ensure the implementation of the very purpose of the ORR.

RTC grapples with drunken driving (http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Hyderabad/article3761561.ece)

A random check finds 21 drivers in an inebriated condition while on duty

Bosses in the State-run RTC are a worried lot these days after coming to know about stray cases of corporation drivers being intoxicated while at the wheel. The officials were in for a shock when a random check on drivers found at least 21 drivers in an inebriated condition while on duty.

Authorities have now decided to buy more sophisticated breath analysers to help them check the problem. Authorities expect to equip themselves with the latest breath analysers in two months. The drive to check drunken driving by RTC employees was launched recently as part of its ‘Accident free week’ celebrations. The tall claims about ‘RTC drivers do not drink on duty’ were exposed and one city bus driver was caught by passengers at Asifnagar in Hyderabad last week. The advantage with advanced breath analysers is that they issue legally permissible blood alcohol count reports. The analysers that are presently being used by authorities lack this facility, says RTC Vigilance and Security Director V.V. Srinivasa Rao.

They only display the alcohol content and a doctor certification is required to support it. The advanced version costs Rs.70,000 each and the RTC plans to acquire 20 breath analysers in next two months.

Despite claims of stringent measures to curb drunken driving menace, some drivers continue to violate the rules. Authorities claim that each depot is equipped with a breath analyser and security personnel check the drivers for any alcohol consumption before they get into a bus.

There is every possibility of the drivers consuming alcohol after leaving the depot or midway through the journey . This tendency is more among drivers on long distance routes, explains another officer.

To control this, authorities would conduct surprise checks at different locations. Special drives would be conducted regularly in the future and severe action, including suspension from duty would be initiated against errant drivers, says Mr. Rao.

Special trains between Hyderabad and Kolhapur (http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/article3767918.ece)

The South Central Railway will run Express Special trains between Hyderabad and Kolhapur five days a week.

The Hyderabad-Kolhapur Special (train no. 07143) will depart from Hyderabad at 11.10 p.m. on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday and will arrive at 10.45 p.m. the next day. The service will be available between August 14 and August 21.

It will have halts at Begumpet, Sanatnagar, Lingampalli, Shankarapalli, Vikarabad, Tandur, Nawandgi, Kurgunta, Seram, Malkhaid Road, Chittapur, Nalwar, Yadgir, Narayanpet Road, Krishna, Raichur, Mantralayam Road, Adoni, Guntakal, Bellary, Tornagallu, Hospet, Koppal, Gadag, Hubli, Dharwad, Londa, Belgaum, Ghataprabha, Raybag, Kudachi, Miraj, and Hatkanangale.

In the return direction, Kolhapur-Hyderabad Special (train no. 07144) will depart from Kolhapur at 7.30 a.m. on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Monday and Tuesday and will arrive in Hyderabad at 6.45 a.m., the next day. The service will be on between August 16 and August 23.

The train has 15 coaches, including one AC two-tier and AC three-tier, seven second class sleeper coaches, four general second class coaches and two second class luggage-cum-brake vans, a press release said.

MGBS to get a facelift (http://postnoon.com/2012/08/14/mgbs-to-get-a-facelift/66052)

Every year the Freedom Under Construction group constructs toilets and classrooms for government schools. But this year they are doing something different by cleaning up the bus station.

“With great power comes great responsibility.” And we have the power of freedom. This was perhaps one of the most trending dialogue when Spiderman was released a few years back. Giving this quote a tangible form are the volunteers of Freedom Under Construction, who for the last six years have been constructing toilets and classrooms for government schools on the occasion of Independence and Republic day.

“These days are not just national holidays. We need to realise our responsibility towards the freedom that we have. Hence, as an act of nation building, we have taken up this responsibly of mobilising citizens to do something for the society,” said Mujeeb Khan, director of Bhumi Foundation.

However, this year Freedom Under Construction is doing something different. They are going to clean the Imlibun bus station and paint a few parts of the bus stop with messages and quotes.

Mahatma Gandhi Bus Station (MGBS) was earlier known as Imlibun and is one of the two terminal points in Hyderabad for long distance buses. MGBS covers 30 acres with 74 platforms for incoming and outgoing buses, a waiting hall of 7,380 square metres and a shopping complex of 3,455 square metres apart from a 5,000 square metre area for private parking.

One of the oldest and busiest bus stations in Hyderabad, MGBS is in a sorry state thanks to lax maintenance. Volunteers of Freedom Under Construction have taken up the responsibility of sprucing up the bus station on August 15 this year. “It’s important that individuals understand the importance of freedom and how one can uphold and expand freedom. We need to realise how our presence can make a difference and what we can do in our daily life too to change society. This is the best way to start,” said Mujeeb.

As part of their Independence Day celebrations, the volunteers launched the Swaraj walk on August 4 and it will conclude on August 14. This 10-day long mobilisation walk has covered areas like Ghatkesar, Keesaragutta, Shamirpet, Miyapur, Ameerpet and a few more. The volunteers have already covered 200 kilometres in the last eight days.

The walk is aimed at creating social responsibility among citizens. The volunteers have spoken to students, drivers, vendors and basically people from all walks of life on topics like what freedom means to them and what they do to improve society.

The foundation hopes to trigger a sense of responsibility among citizens towards creating a better society.

Some of the responses they received, they say, were inspiring.

“A guy who mends punctured tyres told me that doing his work on time so that those who depend on him can get to work on time is honesty. It’s amazing how this guy values his time and other people’s time. Most people are doing their bit but they need to take ownership of society. Through this walk they will do something and it will be a start of a greater revolution,” said Nomaan Ahmed, volunteer, who has been walking since the last eight days.

The group will organise a 10k walk from Necklace Road on August 14 at 8pm. The group will head towards MGBS and the cleanliness drive will begin from midnight on August 15. Following this the group will paint the walls of the MGBS with messages and quotes.

Auto drivers felicitated
(http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Hyderabad/article3778445.ece)

http://www.thehindu.com/multimedia/dynamic/01179/HY16AUTODRIVERS_1179401f.jpg
Independence Day used to be like any other day for Satyandar Singh as he used to go out driving his auto to eke out his daily living. But this year, it was different.

Mr. Singh, and about 150 auto drivers from the city, were felicitated by Swami Bodhamayananda, director of Vivekananda Institute of Human Excellence (VIHE) here on Thursday. “It is the first time that I am attending such an event. By recognising our services, we were made to feel like we are an integral part of the society,” Mr. Singh said. They received a pair of uniforms, books and fruits from the institute.

This year Independence Day coincided with the 150th birthday of Swamy Vivekananda.

Autorickshaw fares to go up
(http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Hyderabad/article3778490.ece)

http://www.thehindu.com/multimedia/dynamic/01179/hy16Auto_fare_eps_1179426e.jpg
The State government has agreed to increase the minimum autorickshaw fare from Rs. 14 to Rs. 16 in the State capital.
The State government has agreed to increase the minimum autorickshaw fare from Rs. 14 to Rs. 16 in the State capital.

Fare for every subsequent kilometre travelled has also been increased from Rs. 8 to Rs. 9.

The new rates are likely to come into effect in a week once an official order is issued.

Meeting held

The decision to revise fares was taken at a meeting held with the auto unions at Transport Bhavan in Khairatabad on Tuesday. Transport Minister Botcha Satyanarayana chaired the meeting which was attended by senior officials from transport and traffic departments.

Fuel price hike

Citing increase in fuel prices, the auto unions had been seeking an increase in the fares and had even held demonstrations while lobbying with the government. “The Minister has agreed to increase the minimum fares and an order is likely to be issued on August 20,” said Additional Transport Commissioner P. Srinivas.

“Last time the fares were revised in December 2010 and since then petrol and LPG prices have increased drastically. We are happy that the government has finally accepted our demand,” said All India Trade Union Congress city secretary B. Venkatesam.

The Minister also instructed the authorities to study the proposal to set up a welfare board for auto and motor operators and other demands, he said.

There were about 20 recognised auto unions. While a majority of them accepted the new fares, others wanted the minimum fare to be increased to Rs.20.

“Minimum fare in cities like Bangalore, Ahmedabad, and Delhi is Rs.19. The petrol cost in Hyderabad is much higher than other cities so it should be at least Rs.20. We will launch an agitation if our demand is not conceded,” said Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh secretary A. Ravi Shankar.

Plans afoot for integrated commuter terminal in city (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/Plans-afoot-for-integrated-commuter-terminal-in-city/articleshow/15525823.cms)

HYDERABAD: The Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) has decided to develop an 'Integrated Commuter Terminal' on the old Gandhi Hospital premises. The proposed terminal will have separate bays for metro rail, suburban trains, MMTS, bus, intermediate para-transit services (taxis and autos) apart from parking and other transit facilities.

HMDA officials said that the 8.5-acre old Gandhi Hospital land was ideal for an integrated terminal as railway station and bus stops were located in the neighbourhood. A metro rail corridor (JBS-Falaknuma) would be going through the old Gandhi Hospital area. The authority has recently written to the municipal administration and urban development (MA&UD) department to take up the project. The HMDA has now started working on details like facilities required for the terminal and preparing estimations.

HMDA officials said the Comprehensive Transportation Study (CTS) for Hyderabad metropolitan region, being taken up by LEA Associates, revealed that Secunderabad has become a transport hub for the city with about 5.10 lakh passengers passing through the area every day. Of these, 1.60 lakh use it for interchange between road and rail and the remaining bus-to-bus interchange.

The study said 80% of railway passengers use bus, MMTS, sub-urban trains to reach their destination, while the remaining opt for private and personalised vehicles. Nearly 40% of total bus trips of APSRTC in the city originate or terminate in Secunderabad area from five locations. Now, except at Rathifile bus stand, there were no planned terminals for bus operations.

"The study recommended development of an integrated commuter terminal in Secunderabad and the old Gandhi Hospital land is suitable for the same," HMDA metropolitan commissioner Neerabh Kumar Prasad told TOI. HMDA had in 2006 proposed bus terminus-cum-business centre in the vacant land of the old Gandhi Hospital with an estimated cost of Rs 475 crore and requested the MA&UD department for an administrative sanction and allotment of land. However, it was confined to only integration of various bus terminals. In 2008, the authority had called for Expression of Interest-cum-Request for Proposal from bidders to take up the project under Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) basis. As per the plan, all existing seven bus bays in and around Secunderabad station would be brought to a single location. The consultant, engaged by the authority, prepared a plan to construct three basement cellars, ground floor and 23 upper floors with twin towers. Fifty bus bays were planned in the ground floor. HMDA sources said the project could not be taken up as bidders did not come forward due to recession. Also, the land was not transferred to HMDA from the tourism department, which has possession of it.

^^ This has been in proposed stage since many many years

Google Maps For Android Updated; Adds Transit Info For Bangalore MTC, Delhi Metro & Others (http://www.medianama.com/2012/08/223-google-maps-for-android-updated-adds-transit-info-for-bangalore-mtc-delhi-metro-others/)

Google has updated Google Maps for Android app (version 6.10) and has added new features to the app. The app has also added schedules for Bangalore MTC, Chennai MRTS, Delhi Integrated Multi Modal Transit System, DMRC, Northern Railway, Delhi Metro Rail, Ahmedabad Municipal Transport Service – APSRTC, Hyderabad Multi Modal Transit System, MMTS, Kolkata Metro, KMRC, Eastern Railway, CSTC, CTC, TMT, Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation Ltd, NMMT, BEST, KDMC, and Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal ltd.

The updated version of the app also brings in new features like the ability to select a specific mode of public transportation (train, bus, tram or subway) to display on the mobile map, hiding the other modes, and an update to the layout of station pages, that is, now users can open it by tapping on the name of the station on their mobile map.

Apart from that, Google has also added a new ‘region highlighting’ feature - whenever anyone makes a search for a city or postal code, the borders of that region will be highlighted. The app has also added new tabs under ‘My Places’ which will gather all the information from a single place; from saved maps for offline usage and custom maps on desktop. Apart from that if users enable location history, they will be able to browse the places that they have been visiting on a daily basis with an updated location history dashboard.

Previously, Google had introduced transit information for Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC), Ahmedabad Municipal Transport Services (AMTS), bus and local train/Metro routes for Mumbai and Delhi, bus routes for Pune, Delhi, Ahmedabad Chennai, Hyderabad and Bangalore and local train/metro routes for Kolkata and Chennai on maps.google.com and Google Maps for mobile.

Highway traffic adds to chaos on the roads
(http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Hyderabad/article3796233.ece)


http://www.thehindu.com/multimedia/dynamic/01182/hy19Outer_Cordon_e_1182965e.jpg

Do not blame the local traffic alone for the chaos that prevails on the city roads, for on an average more than 1,60,000 vehicles enter and leave the city everyday.

As part of the Comprehensive Transportation Study (CTS) taken up for the Hyderabad Metropolitan Area (HMA), a survey of 16 selected outer corridors along the National Highways documented about 80,000 vehicles entering and another 82,000 leaving the city on a normal working day.

The survey was carried out to assess interaction of the HMA with rest of the State and country by the LEA Associates on behalf of the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority.

Among the 16 city outer corridors surveyed, Chilkur-Vikarabad road was found to be a very minor road from traffic perspective with movement of only 1,138 vehicles recorded. The highest daily traffic volume was found on Hyderabad-Sangareddy road (27,382 vehicles) followed by Hyderabad-Jadcherla road (22,465) and Hyderabad-Vijayawada road (22,247).

Together, the three national highways of NH-7 (Medchal Road), NH-9 (Sangareddy Road) and NH-202 (Warangal and further) themselves contributed more than 58 per cent of this traffic.

Another interesting aspect from the study related to private vehicles in the form of cars and two-wheelers working out to almost 50 per cent of the traffic volume even on the outer corridors followed by goods vehicles i.e., trucks and lorries, constituting 28 per cent and APSRTC buses just 5 per cent. The Non Motorised Transport i.e., cycle, cycle rickshaw and animal drawn, was found to be insignificant, less than 2 per cent.

Wego to soon include bus, taxi fares on website
(http://www.thehindu.com/news/states/andhra-pradesh/article3802228.ece)


http://www.thehindu.com/multimedia/dynamic/01184/HY21_P2_WEGO_1184045f.jpg

A travel search engine that provides offers for flights and hotels - www.wego.co.in - will soon include buses and taxis and give you the cheapest solutions.

Jackson Fernandez, Wego India’s general manager, says that the portal that was powered to include most airlines and hotels in India right now would include in a month, ‘best fare’ searches for bus and taxi travel. It searches 150 websites in the time it takes for a user to search just one, he says, adding that the increasing preference of the Indian traveller to visit places across the length and breadth of the country was the potential the company wished to leverage.

A tool in the web world that sends user requests to other search engines and databases to aggregate the results into a single list, it thus makes the choice for the user. “For most people, airfare searches start at an online travel agency (OTA) or airline website. However, for better search results, it is always ideal to use such tools, a trend that is catching very fast,” he says.

It compiles fares from multiple airlines and OTAs, hotels and bus, taxi operators and then displays the cheapest choices. Helping eliminate the time spent at multiple websites, search engine users are redirected to the actual transaction page of the travel agency, airline, or hotel for the final purchase of the ticket.

The highly competitive market today has players such as Kayak, Ixigo, Google travel and Wego, giving customers freedom and flexibility to choose from options from different players. “Wego has gone a step forward to provide translations in regional dialects for the masses,” Mr. Jackson adds.

Bus shelters: Are they for commuters or contractors?
(http://www.thehansindia.info/News/Article.asp?category=5&subCategory=1&ContentId=81859)

http://www.thehansindia.info/Updates/2012/Aug/23/bus.JPG

The talk of having Geographic Information System (GIS) sounds good and warms the cockles of the hearts of people who have been abroad. But far from having a state-of-the-art technology, the bus shelters in the twin cities are bereft of even basic facilities.

The information gathered following the filing of an application under the Right to Information Act revealed statistics about the pathetic state of bus shelters. Of the 41 bus shelters between Mehidipatnam and Lingampally, only six have lighting facilities, 30 don’t have route numbers, and only 18 have flooring.

Going by the way the authorities respond and work, the GIS-backed digital displays are a far-fetched dream as of now and solar lighting too is talked about. But, the actual work has not been done on this front. Ali Akbar, a resident of Gowliguda, says, “I have to find a single bus shelter that has good seating arrangement and a route map.”

Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation is the responsible official body to provide the bus shelters with proper amenities to enable the city commuters to enjoy a hassle-free journey is looking to provide facilities through PPP (Public Private Partnership) mode under DBMT (Design, Finance, Build, Maintain and Transfer) scheme.

But the slow progress is adding to the woes of commuters. Unfortunately advertisement agencies mint money by flouting the rules but not at all concerned to provide facilities. It is clearly mentioned in the tender documents if the contractor fails to provide the basic facilities and uses for advertisements he can be fined 2000 rupees per day but GHMC is still issues notices only instead of taking actions through fine.

ITMD (It’s Time to Make a Difference), a voluntary organisation, has been trying fight for commuters since 2009. It has been lodging complaints with GHMC. But GHMC didn’t even bother to issue notices to contractors. Finally, ITMD took issue to Lokayukta in March 2012 and Lokayukta ordered in the first hearing on June 26 to GHMC to focus on the issue. “We suspect the officials have colluded with the contractors,” says Rama Krishna of ITMD.

Yes even in the developed parts the bus stops are pathetic with broken seats, posters everywhere forget about route maps. why dont they learn from other cities in India

Yes even in the developed parts the bus stops are pathetic with broken seats, posters everywhere forget about route maps. why dont they learn from other cities in India

Completely agree with you World8115, they have to learn every good aspect from other cities in India, at least.

I see that the neighboring states, for instance in KA and TN, gets almost king share in power allocation from Center though they have ample alternate sources of generation contrary to our state which doesn't have enough alternate source of energy generation. Rather paying so much money to the banks for what is lost they should focus on why the loss has been incurred and focus on the source of the problem (one eg., start generating power in the state and supply to consumers, farmers, industries etc.,). If they would have learnt from Gujarat, with which I shouldn't ideally compare our state situation, where every village gets 24x7 power supply. Ain't that possible in our state?? Nothing geographically is our state deficit. There isn't any reason for our state/city being so ignored. Looks like our state govt. is more focused on growth of states other than AP considering latest delay in fixing engg. fee and industries where students and industries are movin to other states.

Rain chokes traffic to Hi-Tec City
(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/Rain-chokes-traffic-to-Hi-Tec-City/articleshow/15642684.cms)
HYDERABAD: Traffic came to a grinding halt on the Kukatpally- Hi-Tec City stretch on Friday morning and commuters were stuck in a jam for more than three hours. An hour of rain in the morning resulted in the potholed road turning into a nightmare for motorists with parts of the stretch completely submerged in rainwater. While traffic jams on the road are a daily affair, on Friday it was particularly worse with several employees working in Hi-Tec City reaching work not before noon.

The chaos on the road started soon after the short spell of rain with vehicles getting stuck from 8.30am onwards. The snarl lasted till about 11am. Cyberabad traffic police officials refused to comment on the gridlock saying that they have been reeling under the extra workload in view of the upcoming COP 11. Snarls on Friday were reported after the rain at other busy city thoroughfares like the Madhapur-Kondapur stretch and the road from Secretariat to Khairatabad.

But commuters on the Kukatpally-Hi-Tec City stretch were the worst hit. Apart from potholes, the incomplete flyover near the JNTU MMTS junction, under construction for more than four years now, too, had commuters complaining about the chaos it was causing. The ongoing road-widening work for the metro rail project also contributed to the traffic chaos. The pits on the road only added to citizen's woes as many said that even on other non-rainy days a car or a couple of bikes get stuck in one of them creating an extra bottleneck. Commuters who use the route daily complained that although the situation was far worse on Friday, being stuck in traffic on that stretch for one-and-a-half to two hours was a daily affair.

Days of fancy number plates are numbered: C V Anand
(http://www.thehansindia.info/News/Article.asp?category=5&subCategory=1&ContentId=82321)

http://www.thehansindia.info/Updates/2012/Aug/25/tra2.JPG

I'm surprised thy said Arabic numerals instead of Indo-Arabic numerals: Wkipedia article (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindu–Arabic_numeral_system)

If they meant European-style Indo-Arabic numerals, they could've said that, IMO.

Special trains during Dasara (http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/industry-and-economy/logistics/article3840625.ece?ref=wl_industry-and-economy)

HYDERABAD AUG. 30:
South Central Railways will run special trains from Hyderabad destined for Bangalore, Visakhapatnam, Aurangabad and Tirupathi during Dasara festival to clear the extra rush of passengers.

A special train will be run between Kacheguda station in Hyderabad and Bangalore on October 20 and 27 (Saturdays).

The train will stop at Shadnagar, Mahbubnagar, Gadwal, Kurnool Town, Dhone, Guntakal, Gooty, Ananthapur, Dharmavaram, Penukonda, Hindupur, Gauribidannur, Dodballapur, Yelahanka and Banglore Cantt.

Another special will depart from Hyderabad on October 19 and 26 (Fridays) to arrive at Visakhapatnam the next day.

Bus shelters only in name

The Hindu (http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Hyderabad/article3841223.ece)
http://img33.imageshack.us/img33/1751/hyderabadbus1194379g.jpg
TOUGH GOING: (Clockwise) The Moosapet bus stop which is encroached by mechanics. Commuters forced to wait on the main road as the bus stop is barricaded for the HMWS&SB water pipeline work at Mettuguda junction. The poor upkeep of Nizampet bus stop. Photos: M. Subhash and Nagara Gopal

Bus shelters continue to offer inconvenience to the commuters across the city. If some remain ill-lit, others lack seating facility while dust bins are scarce. At a few places the bus shelters are conspicuous by absence.

A random check of the conditions at bus shelters from Chandrayangutta in old city to Kukatpally Housing Board Colony by The Hindu found most of them in a commuter unfriendly shape.

There are about 74 bus stops on the stretch and 21 of them have no shelters at all. Those which have the bus shelters, most of these remain ill-lit, and are devoid of any display board. Only one bus stop at Somajiguda has dust bins.

This apart, 15 bus stops have only one bus shelter even though there is a need for more looking at the huge turnout of commuters.

For example the lone bus shelter at Shadaan College fails to meet the heavy student rush in afternoons

Similar scenes

Due to paucity of space many are forced to stand on the road. It is a similar scene at Motigalli bus stop in old city and Ameerpet FOB bus stop. Shah Ali Banda bus stop in old city is no exemption.

“As I buy a monthly bus pass ticket I am in a fix. I take shelter at nearby shops and run to catch a bus on spotting it,” says Mohd. Najamuddin, a government employee.

On the other hand, a few places have more number of bus shelters than required. For instance, the A.P. Legislative Assembly boasts of five bus shelters, Erram Manzil (7) and Somajiguda (8).

However, a little ahead from here the busy Lakdikapul bus stop is in dire need of shelters and out of the 12 platforms only seven have shelters and of these only four have seating facility.

“Authorities lack logic or simply not bothered to address the commuter issues. Places that need bus shelters are devoid of them,” says N. Krishna, a chartered accountancy course student.

Elsewhere at Erragadda Rythu Bazaar (two), Kukatpally (three) and Moosapet (one) bus shelters have been encroached upon by traders.

“They use it as a display area even as the commuters are pushed to road,” says B. Dayakar, a student of Khairtabad College.

At a few places people share the bus shelters with stray dogs, dirty water and muddy flooring.

Steps soon to make AC buses profitable in Hyderabad (http://ibnlive.in.com/news/steps-soon-to-make-ac-buses-profitable-in-hyderabad/287935-60-121.html)

The expert committee which went to Bangalore to study commuters’ response to the air-conditioned city buses there, has completed its study and will submit its report to the APSRTC management here in a few days.
The AP State Road Transport Corporation is operating 80 air-conditioned buses in Hyderabad and Secunderabad but is incurring losses due to poor occupancy of the buses.
The occupancy is 75 per cent in Bangalore and 45 per cent in Hyderabad. Because of the low occupancy, the APSRTC is incurring a loss of Rs 4,000 a day on each bus and a cumulative loss of Rs 3.20 lakh a day on all the 80 buses.
The monthly loss is touching the Rs 1-crore mark which the organisation cannot bear. The corporation has already accumulated losses to the tune of Rs 4,000 crore.
RTC officials are unable to know why commuters in Hyderabad do not prefer AC buses though fares here are lower than in Bangalore.
The AC bus fare in Hyderabad is Rs 1.25 per kilometre and in Bangalore it is Rs 2. The RTC management has sent three officers to Bangalore to study how AC buses are running in profits and why people prefer AC buses there. The team completed its study in three days and returned to Hyderabad and are finalising its report.
According to an officer, most of the software employees and others in highly-paid jobs, who depend on public transport, prefer to commute in AC buses in the Karnataka capital. Though this class of employees can afford own transport, long commuting distances, frequent traffic snarls and inadequate or even lack of parking space make them opt for public transport.
The other reason is the non-avaialbility of residential accommodation in the vicinity of Electronic City, the IT hub of Bangalore. The Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) is operating as many as 500 air-conditioned buses, most of them to the Electronic City and the airport, in Bangalore.
The KSRTC provides monthly bus passes to commuters at Rs 3,000 a month. In contrast, the officer said, 60 percent people of Hyderabad’s total population depend on their own transport like cars and two-wheelers to commute between home and workplace.
Because a majority of software professionals and others live not far from the IT hub, commuting by their own transport is neither cumbersome nor expensive for them. Hence the poor patronage for AC buses here. If AC buses are to run in profits here, it should have enticing schemes, he said.

Stop illegal pvt buses: RTC workers (http://postnoon.com/2012/09/03/stop-illegal-pvt-buses-rtc-workers/70226)

RTC Workers Union, affiliated to Bahujana Karmik Sahasabha, has demanded the State government to stop illegal operations of private buses, to save the RTC from losses.

Union honorary president B Ramaswamy, State president P Subhash and general secretary AV Raju, said that the RTC is on its death bed, with huge losses, as seen from newspaper reports, and hence they have decided to strive for its protection. Out of a total of 1.50 lakh employees,the SCs, STs, BCs and minorities constitute 80 per cent and hence they have taken it upon themselves to protect the RTC. They have decided to work one day extra in a month, to save the Corporation, and also work for the welfare of the workers.

https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/257267_411572505572494_1345213311_o.jpg

^^ Thanks for posting Sri .Please try to post a short summary when you are posting a Telugu articles. :)

The article is about the new traffic signals that are being installed under H-TRIMS.The traffic signals are beings installed so that they are easily visible from atleast 30 meters.

To help Pedestrians cross the road, apart from lights some sort of a sound/siren will be played to make the vehicles stop. Even the vehicles wanting to take a left turn have to stop for the pedestrians.

Google (http://maps.google.com/maps/place?ftid=0x3bcb99daeaebd2c7:0xae93b78392bafbc2&q=hyderabad+google+maps&hl=en&ved=0CAwQ-gswAA&sa=X&ei=VkhHUOHLIKuRiQfkyoCoCg) has started giving Live Traffic information in some of the major Indian cities. I took a snapshot of the traffic view at 6:10 PM.

http://img713.imageshack.us/img713/6084/hydlivetraffic592012.jpg

Google Maps adds navigation and live traffic updates in India (http://businesstoday.intoday.in/story/google-maps-android-live-traffic-updates/1/187808.html)

On Wednesday, Google has rolled out two new features for Google Maps in India. While it has enabled the much awaited turn-by-turn voice navigation through Google Maps Navigation (Beta) in India, the company has also made available live traffic information through Google Maps for major roads in select cities - Bengaluru, Mumbai, New Delhi, Chennai, Pune and Hyderabad.

These features will be accessible for free on desktops as well as Android smartphones running version 2.2 or later. The live traffic conditions can be checked by enabling the 'Traffic' layer on the desktop as well as on the mobile version.


Traffic density on the roads will be represented by different colours for ease - red for significant congestion, yellow for minor slow-downs and green for free-flowing traffic. Google Maps Navigation also takes traffic data into account when calculating directions for navigation, so users will automatically be routed around areas of major congestion if a faster alternative route is available nearby.

Tap into Google Maps to get directions and check traffic status (http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/internet/article3863235.ece?homepage=true)

Google Maps enthusiasts are in for a treat.

From Wednesday noon, commuters in India get turn-by-turn, voice-guided directions, using the Google Maps Navigation. In addition, if you’re living in Bangalore, Mumbai, New Delhi, Chennai, Pune and Hyderabad, you’ll find that a new advanced feature just got activated on your maps menu — live traffic updates.

Both services provide real-time information free on smartphones running on Android 2.2 (or later). Traffic updates are also accessible through desktop browsers. However, the data relies only on crowd-sourced information from Android phones to provide live updates on the average speed of vehicles on major roads.

Tech forums had been abuzz with news on a likely announcement on maps when Google Inc made the formal announcement here. The service, which is available in 40 languages in 74 countries, is now offered only in English. However, the announcement of upcoming directions (in the navigation service) is in a “friendly, familiar Indian accent,” according to Darren Baker, product manager for Google Maps. India is “a dynamic and fast-growing market for online map services.”

The Internet-connected GPS navigation service draws on Google’s search and voice search capabilities. Besides announcing simple ‘right and left’ directions, the service offers layers that give one en route information on popular landmarks, restaurants, ATMs or petrol bunks. Another advantage is that since the data is accessed through Google’s mapping services, there is no need for manual updates.

Google Maps users in the select cities, through desktop browsers, can view real-time traffic updates for major roads by enabling the ‘traffic’ layer. Another feature allows one to see ‘typical’ traffic conditions at a given time, on a given day, by referencing historic data. Traffic information is displayed in a simple readable colour scheme, indicating various speeds of the vehicles .

But here’s the catch: this live feed, used by Google’s algorithms to predict traffic situations, is based on information gathered from Android phones that may be travelling along that particular route. Given the low smartphone penetration in India and that getting data from these phones will also require Android users to give permission to share their GPS data, this information may not be as ‘reliable’ or ‘accurate’ as Google proposes.

20,000 more autos to crowd city roads (http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Hyderabad/article3863283.ece)

Government decides to sanction permits for 20,000 auto-rickshaws to ply within Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation limit

There will be more autorickshaws on the roads of the State capital shortly. The gvernment has decided to sanction permits for 20,000 auto-rickshaws to ply within Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation limits. These new autos to be permitted will have to be necessarily run on LPG or CNG.

It was only in November last the government had relaxed the ban on allowing new auto registrations and allowed 3,500 auto-rickshaw permits. Currently, there are over 77,000 autos being operated in GHMC limits. The process of registering new vehicles would be completed within four months.

Heavy demand

The latest decision is based on the heavy demand for sanction of new autos in the city and also to improve public transport sources. This, officials feel, would curtail the prevalent practice among auto drivers to demand excess fares, overloading and illegal trading.

Of these new sanctions, 13,000 would be under open category, 4,000 reserved for BCs, 2,000 for SCs and STs and 1,000 for minorities.

Eves swear by MMTS safety (http://postnoon.com/2012/09/06/eves-swear-by-mmts-safety/70941)

Despite initial misconceptions about the security on MMTS trains, women have now warmed to this mode of public transport that they say is more economical.

The Multi Model Transport System (MMTS) was flagged off in Hyderabad a decade back. However, as many things go there were speculations about the security aspect when it came to the MMTS. For instance, would women feel safe etc. Initially, not too many women used the MMTS as it was less crowded when compared to the other modes of public transport.

However, over the years the MMTS has evolved and many women have now begun relying on it on a daily basis to commute. Today in Hyderabad of the nearly 55 lakh people who use public transport, 45 per cent are women as per estimates. This implies that around 22 lakh women use the various forms of public transport — buses, MMTS trains, shared autorickshaws and metered autorickshaws. Of these more than 40,000 women passengers commute by MMTS trains across different destinations in the twin cities every day.

Now, women consider the MMTS to be one of the safest modes of transportation. “It’s fast, economical and safe too. I take the first train in the morning from Secunderabad and it’s completely safe,” said Niharika M, working professional.

Every train has a minimum of four compartments dedicated to women and they are usually full during the peak hours. If by chance a man enters the ladies compartment he is shooed out in no time. “Hyderabadi men are very casual. At times they just enter the ladies compartment. They try to act smart and get into the running train so that we cannot do anything about them being in the ladies compartment. However, we don’t keep quiet and force them to get off at the next station,” said Shradha Naidu, an IT professional who travels by MMTS every day.

However, when there is not much rush many men do travel in the ladies compartment without any qualms. “Sometimes in the afternoons when there is not much rush men do occupy the ladies compartments. As long as they maintain their distance it is not really a problem,” said Anushree G, a law student.

With the fairer sex making the most of the MMTS services and the demand increasing, a new train exclusively for women called ‘Mathrubhoomi’ was launched on September 28, 2008. This train runs from Falaknuma to Lingampally. What sets this train apart is that the driver, guard and ticket collector are all women.

“We started this train as a special initiative. We wanted to have a special service for women hence, we started this service. It’s driven by a lady too,” said K Sambasiva Rao, CPRO, South Central Railways.

Security too is not an issue, say officials, as there is constant patrolling in the trains and on the platforms. M Gopal Rao, PRO, Secunderabad railway police said, “We have a special police force that looks after the MMTS so there is police protection 24×7. It’s a very safe mode of transport for any citizen.”

However, few women commuters complain that eve teasing is at its peak, especially on empty platforms. “There are a few stations that are deserted and creepy. It’s not safe for girls to travel alone after 8pm. But this is the case anywhere in the country, not just Hyderabad,” quips Megna Reddy, IT professional.

The MMTS also has special coaches for the physically handicapped. They even have wheelchairs at each station. However, not too many disabled people use the MMTS, perhaps due to the poor infrastructure at stations. For instance, most stations don’t even have ramps to aid those who are disabled. Often it is vendors who use the coaches meant for handicapped.

SCB raises budget for maintenance works (http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Hyderabad/article3867197.ece)

During the board meeting, it was decided to spend Rs. 5 crore on improving water supply, Rs. 4 crore on drains, Rs. 7 crore on road repairs and Rs. 2 crore on buildings and new parks.

Secunderabad Cantonment Board (SCB) residents can look forward to better civic amenities this year as board members on Tuesday enhanced the budget for maintenance works from Rs.14 crore to Rs.18 crore.

During the board meeting, it was decided to spend Rs. 5 crore on improving water supply, Rs. 4 crore on drains, Rs. 7 crore on road repairs and Rs. 2 crore on buildings and new parks.

Proposal rejected

Meanwhile, the proposal to obtain 10 per cent mortgage deed in favour of the Cantonment for building plan approval was rejected by elected board members. The move would have helped in curbing deviations from the sanctioned plan. Already, the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) had successfully implemented the plan, explained SCB Chief Executive Officer S. Balakrishna.

On the contrary, elected members said it would in turn boost deviations from the sanctioned plan. After constructing extra floors against the sanctioned plan, builders would not mind losing 10 per cent mortgage, they argued.

With regard to alleged violations by Stanpower, a private company that installed nine traffic signals in SCB, board members decided to take over four advertisement screens on the hoardings that were put up without permission. The SCB had cancelled the company’s contract as it failed to pay advertisement tax.

Violation of rules

V. Jayaprakash, an elected board member, informed that the company was violating rules by changing advertisements frequently. However, the Stanpower management claimed that it had obtained an injunction order and was permitted to change advertisements.

‘MMTS provides wheels to City’ (http://postnoon.com/2012/09/08/mmts-provides-wheels-to-city/71316)

Divisional railway manager of Secunderabad, Sushant Kumar Mishra talks to Padmini C of Postnoon about the challenges of MMTS in the City and the relevance of commuter trains in the age of the metro.

Should the MMTS serve a viable alternative to other modes of public transport in the city?

Yes, absolutely, only if it’s organised properly. In cities like Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai, the organising principle has been to segregate commuter lines from non-commuter lines, long-distance trains. But in this City, what has happened is that there seems to have been some corner cutting. On the same lines that we have passenger trains, we have commuter trains. As long as there was spare capacity in the lines, it wasn’t a problem but now with Hyderabad growing, there are more trains being introduced every year and that has resulted in increased traffic across the City’s stations.

So right now, what are the challenges this has lead to?

Due to these lines, there are conflict points. For instance, Kachiguda was not a major terminal in the past. Now, scores of trains connect this station. There are other constraints too. There are surface crossings. It means that one train has to pass before another one can go. This is affecting the punctuality of the trains.

Commuter services are good if they are reliable. We are not able to meet these expectations because of our infrastructural constraints. To increase the number of tracks, to have dedicated lines, and to implement bypass crossings. All these must get serious attention. Hopefully, that’ll change in the future.

As you say, timings and cancelled trains are the presently the biggest grouses of passengers.

Due to the running of trains throughout the day and night, there’s no time for track maintenance. So recently, we have taken the decision to cancel some trains in the lean hours for about ten days. By then, we expect the track to be restored to health and the time we are losing for some trains can be improved.

Will the Phase II of MMTS provide remedy the situation?

Unfortunately, Phase II is not addressing the issue. What it is aiming to do is to double bypasses on a few routes. But the main issue of segregating commuter and non commuter remains. Maybe in the next phase, we’ll have to look at this. While the current workings might be imperfect, they are at least, immediate.

Another problem felt by many passengers is the lack of feeder services. What do you think can be done to improve them?

The planning bodies of the State must get involved. Commuters should get the issues to the relevant authorities. RTC has to run buses. Taxi services have to be better organised. Parking areas have to be improved. Level crossings should be eliminated and subways built. The State government is alive to the issue and taking note. But resources are a problem.

Speaking of, a railway official termed the MMTS service a social service obligation. The financial returns are truly negligible, are they not?

It’s not the commuters’ fault. They will surely pay a little more if Railways charged more. But we have a national policy to keep tickets at nominal prices. So, if the policy changes at some point and if we charge at the same rate as an APSRTC bus, it will still be cheaper than any other mode of transport.

Also, with ever increasing patronage, will we soon reach saturation in terms of capacity in Hyderabad?

While the trains are quite popular in the City, they haven’t reached the levels of Mumbai or Kolkata. In fact, we should not reach those levels. People should be able to travel in comfort, which also means more frequency of running trains. We are running trains at fifteen minute intervals now, after segregation, we would be able to run at five minute intervals.

In the age of the Metro, what role will the MMTS play?

They are not competing corridors at all. If anything, they will complement each other. In fact, Railways would like Metro to take over the commuting services. But every city cannot afford a metro. So what we are trying to do is that, because habitations are coming up along the railway track, we aim to provide them with an affordable mode of transport.

So the MMTS will still be relevant.

Yes, the MMTS is connecting the growing parts (the suburbs) with the heartland. And with Hyderabad growing into a metropolis, the need for good commuter services will become paramount. The Metro will be there for some areas, of course, but it is expensive. The MMTS will be a cheaper alternative. Fortunately, there is a healthy co-operation between the State Government and Railways here, so this integration between the two might be realised and also solve long-term issues.

Any other initiatives on the MMTS front?

Nothing major. We have quite a bit of problems running the existing services very well. If we can operationally sort them out and run them well, it’s enough. But having said that, despite all these congenital constraints, even during the peak hours we are able to maintain an acceptable amount of reliability, so that’s a challenge accomplished.

New train to be flagged off today (http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-karnataka/article3879652.ece)

K.H. Muniyappa, Minister of State for Railways, will flag off Bidar-Hyderabad Intercity Express (Train No. 17009) at the Bidar railway station on Monday at 9.45 a.m.

The train will run six-days a week. There will be no service on Saturdays from Hyderabad and on Sundays from Bidar.

The timings of the train is as follows:

It will leave Bidar at 7.00 a.m. and arrive in Hyderabad at 10.25 a.m. It will stop at Zahirabad at 7.21 a.m., Vikarabad at 8.27 a.m., Shankarpalli at 8.56 a.m., Lingampalli at 9.32 a.m., Sanathnagar at 9.47 a.m. and Begumpet at 9.51 a.m.

While returning, Hyderabad-Bidar Intercity Express (Train No. 17010) will leave Hyderabad at 6.45 p.m. and arrive at Bidar at 10.15 p.m. This train has 15 coaches, one AC chair car, 12 second seating, two luggage cum parcel van coaches, said a release.

Hyderabad: Hitech City to face traffic snarls

Hyderabad: Commuters in the city, especially those who travel to Hitech city everyday, are in for a tough time from October 1 to 19, the duration of the bio-diversity conference. Traffic on the route leading to Hitex, the venue of the conference, will be diverted for obvious reasons. “There are just a few roads that lead to Hitech city. Out of them, road no 36 is the main route, and we will use it only for delegates,” said CV Anand, Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic) adding, “Definitely, there will be a lot of IT crowd going the same way. So, depending on the traffic conditions, we will take decisions.”
Road no. 2 and 36 are the two main roads that lead to the bio-diversity conference, which leaves road no. 10 and 45 as alternate routes to travel to Hitech city. In order to ensure smooth traffic flow, the Traffic Police will conduct an awareness campaign in the twin cities at least a fortnight before the conference begins on Oct 1. “We will conduct an awareness campaign 10-15 days before CoP 11 begins to educate the public to use other routes, to avoid traffic congestion on roads which will be used by vehicles heading towards CoP 11,” said Anand.
The Traffic Police may have their hands full for the entire duration of CoP 11 as some of the 20 most accident-prone routes fall in corridors that delegates attending the conference may use. The KBR Park, Jubilee Hills check post, road no 12, NFCL Junction, Langer Houz, and Toli Chowki are some of the most dangerous areas for motorists, as they have have been in the list for the last three years.

The stretch from Langer Houz to Golconda is the most accident prone area in Hyderabad. The road which is marked between corridors 15 and 16, has so far witnessed 41 accidents this year (till August 2012). The route which leads to one of the city’s must see sites, Golconda Fort, also leads to Gachibowli and Hitech city.
The NFCL junct ion (Panjagutta) to KBR Park has been marked as the second most accident prone point this year, as 30 accidents have taken place on that stretch. NCFL junction is listed in corridors 1, 2 and 5, which go to Sarojini Devi Eye Hospital in Mehdipatnam, and Sangeet junction in Secunderabad via SP road.
NCFL junction is a vital road, as it goes towards Banjara Hills and Jubilee Hills. Anand said more number of traffic and law & order personnel will be deployed on the Langer Houz route to curb rash driving and manage traffic flow. “We will increase enforcement. There will be a very tight check on autos, and buses will also be regulated.We will clamp down on any sort of rash driving.”

Time to raise MMTS ticket prices? (http://postnoon.com/2012/09/10/time-to-raise-mmts-ticket-prices/71738)

A highly placed railway official reveals the inside story of policy paralysis, grief and financial distress that plagues the MMTS project in Hyderabad.

Everyone who knows anything about MMTS in the City has something to criticise the service. Irregular timings, not many trains, not enough parking at the stations etc. They expect it to be first-class service. It’s like going to a roadside cafe and complaining that the mineral water served is not chilled. They forget that getting mineral water is a bit unrealistic in such a situation. Forgive me if the analogy seems conceited, especially from a railway official, but consider these facts.

More than 1.5 lakh people commute by MMTS in the City every day. We run over 122 services daily. It is a sizeable number, so you could be forgiven for thinking we must be doing okay. Our accounts will tell you a different story. Our daily revenue is just about Rs.3.10 lakh. Can you guess what our expenses are? Just our logistics costs amount to approximately Rs.38 lakh. This is not even counting the costs incurred for maintenance of station infrastructure, costs of the two drivers, guard, two ticket conductors, two railway protection force officers, ticketing personnel… and the 50 odd people that are behind the running of each train. Which means that every single day, by a conservative estimate, we incur a net loss of Rs.35 lakh.



Taken advantage of

In the last eight to 10 years, everything from bus fares, auto fares to air fares have increased exponentially, but there has been no revision in train fares. The price of an MMTS ticket today is Rs.2. The price of a platform ticket is Rs.5. Needless to say, people who have realised the tragic irony of the situation take blatant advantage.

There are still some others who don’t even bother to shell out the two rupees, for the cheapest transport system in the country, and travel for free. What they don’t realise is that they are cutting off the very hand that’s feeding them.



No checks in place

There are no checks. There is no fear of getting caught, our critics allege. During peak hours, there are checks. But truth be told, the situation is laughable. Ask our TCs to scout MMTS trains regularly and they will tell you how unfeasible the proposition is. They have a Rs.1 lakh fine-collection target they must meet every month and the riff-raff that travels ticketless along the MMTS routes can’t shell out the Rs.250 fine.

Left with no choice, the TCs force them to disembark at the next station. Sometimes, even that is not without consequence. Recently, on the Borabanda-Hafizpet route, some offenders retaliated by pelting stones at the TCs. They escaped by a hair’s breath. Some destroyed the Automatic Ticket Vending Machines at the stations. They misbehave with our ticketing staff. But who wants to know about these things?



No increase in fares

Anyway, back to the main point. Why not increase the fare? At least make them on par with platform tickets, you ask. Believe me when I say, it’s not for the lack of trying. Petition after petition has fallen on deaf ears. Everyone’s afraid to push on the issue. Who can blame them? The former railway minister himself was made to resign when he proposed a hike in fares, so what chance do we stand?

Goods trains are our bread and butter, not MMTS. It’s a cancer patient that we are trying our best to help. Forget making a profit, it’s a miraculous day if we ever see it break even and recover our expenses. Yet despite everything, we are keeping 1.5 lakh commuters off the roads every day.

Even with no dedicated tracks, we are doing our best to maintain timings, frequency, increase capacity of the trains, keep stations clean and provide better passenger amenities. All with no incentive and no hope of profit. A little appreciation would not hurt.

Nothing like a local train (http://postnoon.com/2012/09/10/nothing-like-a-local-train/71744)

The MMTS might be clean and cheap, but its users are just like commuters elsewhere.

On a slow Saturday afternoon, we ducked out of office to take a ride on the MMTS. After a lot of deliberation, we decided on Vidya Nagar as our starting point.

The few people at the booking counter were clustered at one window, all calling out their destination. When our turn came, the woman at the counter brushed aside our Rs.20 note and demanded change. At Rs.2 for a ticket from Vidya Nagar to Secunderabad, it was easily the cheapest ride of my life.



The empty platform reflected the sleepiness of a weekend afternoon. Those waiting had given up standing and were lounging on the benches. Ten minutes later, I started getting bored as well. Having lived in Mumbai and Chennai, this was the longest I have ever had to wait for a train without any announcements about delays.

That’s when I realised what struck me most incongruous about the station — not the cleanliness, not the lack of people, not the absence of trains. What was missing was the flat, droning voice making announcements!

Unfortunately, what was not missing was another standard feature of stations across India — people crossing the tracks despite there being a perfectly good foot overbridge.



The train, when it finally arrived, was understandably full, but with enough standing space. Despite that, there was a bunch of college students who, to show that they live on the edge, decided to hang out of the train.

The compartment itself was a culture shock for my local train-hardened sensibilities. No graffiti, no flyers promising cures for piles, no ‘Vicky loves Pinky’ scrawled on walls. The coach was spotless.

After a pleasant ride up and down the line, we decided to call it a day. The Hyderabad MMTS may be a lot cleaner, safer and cheaper mode of transport than elsewhere, but people and their idiotic actions seem universal.

What an idea Sirji?
(http://www.thehansindia.info/News/Article.asp?category=5&subCategory=1&ContentId=85930)


http://www.thehansindia.info/Updates/2012/Sep/10/idea.JPG

The auto fares have increased and the petrol prices are on the brink of a rise, yet again. People like me who are ever-so dependent on the three wheeler for survival, and the ones that are carrying on with lofty dreams of buying a vehicle of their own; are left in the lurch. It is a Catch 22 situation when owning a vehicle would mean bearing the brunt of the now regular feature - petro-price hike and going by auto would mean paying up on the increased meter rate plus the auto wallah tax (the extra on meter that one invariably ends up paying when travelling in Hyderabad). So I decided to use the good old APSRTC to commute.

On the first day (after the decision), I ended up at the Kacheguda Railway Station, waiting for a bus to Secunderabad. As if in appreciation to my change of modus operandi, the rain gods turned extremely benevolent and it started raining cats and dogs and a few buffaloes too.

I stood at the lone bus shelter for over an hour with no trace of the bus. One of the prime bus stops of the area that has buses plying to and from every direction in the city had just one shelter. Except for a few of the lucky commuters (which included me) the rest were waiting for the elusive bus standing in the rain. Finally the bus did arrive – that left me wondering if the time wasted was worth the money saved.

Day Two of my tryst with APSRTC: This time I was in for luck – The bus came within a few minutes of my waiting and I managed to find a seat after a couple of stops. “Oka ticket meeda vanda cinemalu – Sudigadu”- a voice boomed from nowhere, making me look up with a start. And much to my amusement and astonishment, I saw a flat screen TV securely placed behind the driver’s seat, screening the advertisement of the hit film of Allari Naresh, followed by Telugu film songs.

With a smirk on my face I asked the conductor what it is all about – he said – we have it on all buses but not the dokku (buses that are in bad shape) ones. What an idea sirji – If implemented properly, this could be one of the best advertisement generating models. But one would probably miss all the gossip that one gets to overhear from co-travellers and all the live entertainment one gets from the numerous fights that happen during the course of the travel by the city bus.

Auto drivers suffer under private finance woes (http://postnoon.com/2012/09/11/auto-drivers-suffer-under-private-finance-woes/72100)

They continue to choose private money lenders despite banks such as the State Micro Finance Corporation that have been set up for their assistance.

The plight of auto drivers suffering under private financiers has been long known. But it is no big mystery as to why these auto drivers continue to choose private money lenders over the banks. Or the fact that the State Micro Finance Corporation that was established to ensure the well being of small functionaries like auto drivers has received only a meagre Rs.25 crore allocation in its budget.

A tough situation

Nawab Ali approached a financing agency over a year back to avail a loan for an auto. He secured a loan and began regularly clearing his payments. After 17 months, he was neither issued his papers nor was he allowed to resell the auto as he did not have the papers. Furthermore, the agency cheated him by entering the wrong amount on his receipts.

A case was booked under Section 420 when he reported this to the then DCP Anish Kumar Sinha and now the case is still pending. Nawab Ali is now stuck with no papers or a permit and no way out.

Nawab’s case is not isolated. Union members reveal that about 1 lakh autos ply in the City and more than 40,000 are being financed by private agencies.

A whopping Rs.200 crore is pushed into this grey market but problems arise because of amount recovery — vehicle seizure, forcing the borrower to sign on blank papers etc.

So why do the auto drivers continue to seek help from private agencys? Because the banks are very strict about security deposits, documents like property proof, land patta, pass book etc.

Moreover, high interest rates and the employment of third party payment collectors often deter them from approaching banks.

‘We follow policies’

“We do not drive away our customers but it is our policy to issue loans based on security deposits. Moreover, the Financial Inclusion Program of the RBI has made it mandatory that everybody regardless of their economic background get bank accounts with no strings attached. But with their history of repayment, we are generally edgy about issuing loans to auto drivers who are classified under the “unsecured loans” category,” said an AGM of SBH.

‘Easy to approach’

A private financier from Koti, Ravi Prasad said, “When a borrower defaults his payments we do not carry any surcharges. Moreover, we do not employ hooligans to retrieve vehicles from the defaulters unlike the banks do.

“These people find it easy to approach us as we are lenient in terms of deposits or paper work.”

Currently the interest rates for personal loans is 8.5 per cent above base rate and 18.5 per cent p.a, whereas the private financers charge a paltry Rs.1.20 to Rs.1.50 interest on the amount taken for the first 30 months and then a 2.5 per cent interest rate after this period.

That apart, the State government had set up an able functioning body to cater to the demands of the small business communities like the autowallah’s who are shunned away from other major financial institutions. But the SMFC fails to provide any loan subsidies.

After the State government waived loans during the tenure of YSR, the lending rates have fallen down drastically. And the fact that the annual budget of the SMFC is a meagre Rs.25 crore when the demands are much higher, speaks volumes about the state of affairs.

Shankar, a national auto union member, says, “In this particular case, I do not understand why the auto driver had to take over Rs.2 lakh rupees for an auto that was worth Rs.1,44,000 in the market a little over a year ago. Most of the incidents involving financiers resorting to violence or intimidation is not true and even if it is they are probably card defaulters.

“If the Motor Vehicle Act is scrutinised, it states that the financier has authority to reclaim his vehicle or seize it if the party fails to repay. The government should subsidise loans for the sake of our livelihoods.”

Metro rail overtakes Bus Rapid Transit System project
(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/Metro-rail-overtakes-Bus-Rapid-Transit-System-project/articleshow/16358519.cms)
HYDERABAD: Though a feasibility report on Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) proposed between Rethibowli and JNTU Kukatpally by the Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority (UMTA) was submitted three years ago, neither UMTA nor Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) seem to be interested in implementing the project.

Official sources said the BRTS project appears to be shelved as the municipal administration and urban development (MA&UD) department is not keen on taking it up since the Rethibowli-JNTU route is being considered for the second phase of metro rail project. Apart from the Rethibowli-JNTU route, other stretches like Falaknuma-Shamshabad, Miyapur-Patancheru and other routes were being considered for the metro rail second phase. The other reason for putting the project on the back burner is because the BRTS projects taken up in Delhi, Pune and other cities did not give the expected results.

A lane dedicated to buses is created on the road in BRTS. For this, a minimum of 150 feet wide road without any obstructions is required.

In 2008, Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) came forward to carry out a feasibility study, including environmental and social assessment study and preliminary designs on the 18-km Rethibowli-JNTU, Kukatpally at free of cost. The CIDA report was submitted to GHMC and UMTA in 2009. After the report was submitted, it was decided to float an SPV(Special Purpose Vehicle) for the project, but no initiative was taken by the UMTA and GHMC for formation of the SPV, which would have had representatives from all important departments like HMDA, HMR, traffic police and GHMC. The UMTA, headed by the chief secretary and which meets once a year, stopped discussing the project.


"The BRTS project for the city is almost shelved as the department is not interested in forming an SPV. However, the BRTS project for Vijayawada, which was also taken up at the same time, has an SPV," an official of the MA&UD department said.

The Rethibowli-Kukatpally (JNTU) corridor was to be via Tolichowki, Shaikpet, Rayadurg, Hi-Tec City, Malaysian Township and JNTU Kukatpally. As the road is wide and ever busy, the government had proposed it for BRTS project after several proposals. In 2006, the GHMC had proposed BRTS on five routes Uppal-Aramgar, Aramghar-Mehdipatnam, Uppal-Mehdipatnam and Musi river both north and south drives. But these were not considered as there were several hitches for road widening. Officials claim that BRTS was not suitable for the core city due to congestion on roads and a dedicated lane is being made on Outer Ring Road (ORR) for the system.

When contacted, GHMC additional commissioner (Planning) K Dhananjaya Reddy admitted that there was no progress on the BRTS project for the past couple of years. "As of now, the project has been put on hold," he added.

20,000 more autos set to choke Hyderabad (http://postnoon.com/2012/09/12/20000-more-autos-set-to-choke-city/72364)

Already choking with auto fumes, Hyderabad will have to put up with another 20,000 autorikshaws soon.

The transport ministry’s decision to permit 20,000 new autos in the City has caused an uproar among civil societies and political parties. This sudden generosity of the ministry towards the autorickshaw community has left people questioning its feasibility and the adverse effects it will have on the City’s environment.

Until November 2011, the government decided to cap the number of LPG-run autos at 77,035 in the City. When the State government relaxed the ban on new permits shortly after, 3,500 autorickshaw permits were sanctioned. In addition to the 20,000 new permits, about 322 autos running on temporary registrations since 2011 have been permitted to ply.

Currently, over 77,357 autos ply on City roads and with the new permit, the number is slated to reach 97,357. Here too, reservations have been kind to the BC, SC/ST and the minority communities with 4,000, 2,000 and 1,000 permits reserved for them respectively.

However, the state of infrastructure in the City has gone from bad to worse, with road expansion and road maintenance works going at a

slow pace. The much hyped City beautification project has failed to show any great results so far. Moreover, whimsical decisions such as these cannot be cleared until prior consultation with the Pollution Control Board and their consent over this matter is not taken. So has the transport minister taken any of these steps?

Transport minister Botsa Satyanarayana has always been kind towards the autorickshaw community so far, but only on a periodical basis. Among many of his schemes, the prepaid auto taxis stand out as examples of the minister’s short-sighted decisions. When 30 students from the Telangana Law Students’ Union approached the minister on Tuesday and briefed him about the consequences of his decision, he refused to participate in the discussion. Vivek Vardhan Deshmukh, a member of the student community said, “It is shocking that the minister has behaved like this. When we asked him about the environmental effects, he said ‘How will 20,000 more autos in the City increase pollution?’.”

If all the sanctioned 20,000 autos are LPG-propelled, then they will certainly not have too much of an effect on the environment. And like every fancy government decision, this one too has no estimate as to how many of the permitted autos will run on LPG. DA Somayajulu, YSRCP leader remarks, “If it is not the issue of pollution, then there is always the chaos that these additional autos will create in the City. The City’s infrastructure has not gone through any makeover to accommodate them.”

And prior to taking up such a big decision, has the minister consulted the City traffic police? “No, we have not been consulted regarding this issue. No road widening works have occurred and the City’s roads are in a bad shape. Bringing in 20,000 more autos will only mean too much traffic congestion. In fact, the commissioner of the traffic police has written to the principal secretary of the transport ministry asking him to take back the decision,” says CV Anand, additional commissioner of traffic police.

Ravi Shankar, member of the AITUC auto union says, “It is a welcome decision that the permits have been issued. Considering that the trend in the autorickshaw market has seen the highest sales of LPG and CNG sales, the permits will have no environmental impact. Furthermore, it is a sign of encouraging public transport over the ever increasing usage of private transport.”

We need more electric cars on the road (http://postnoon.com/2012/09/13/we-need-more-electric-cars-on-the-road/72594)

http://postnoon.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Wheels_add_to_woes_of_the_modern_man_postnoon_news-435x292.jpg

Vehicles run on fossil fuel keep increasing and emerging economies like India, China are disregarding it’s environmental implications. Electric vehicles, solar-propelled vehicles and other mode of non-pollutant vehicles alone can save the future.

It seems frustrating. While on one hand scientific evidence of Earth’s protective veneer getting destroyed due to spiraling pollution is clear to the world and talks are being held among nations to reduce pollutants, automobile production is growing in leaps and bound. Today, we have one car for every seven people.

Production of passenger vehicles (cars and light vehicles) rose from 74.4 million in 2010 to 76.8 million in 2011 — and 2012 may bring an all-time high of 80 million or more vehicles, according to new research conducted by the Worldwatch Institute. Global sales of passenger vehicles increased from 75.4 million to 78.6 million over the same period, with a projected 81.8 million in 2012, writes report author and Worldwatch senior researcher Michael Renner.

The major driver of increased production and sales are the economies, especially China and India. “Rising sales translate into ever-expanding fleets. An estimated 691 million passenger cars were on the world’s roads in 2011. When both light-and heavy-duty trucks are included, the number rises to 979 million vehicles, which was 30 million more than just a year earlier.

By the end of 2012, the global fleet could top 1 billion vehicles,” says Michael.

Electric vehicle (EV) production remains at barely perceptible levels. Although several countries have issued targets for future EV fleets, it remains to be seen whether these goals can be met. China, for instance, wants to put 5 million plug-in hybrid-electric and fully electric vehicles on its roads by 2020 — which could account for more than 40 per cent of the global EV fleets that year.

An analysis by Deutsche Bank Climate Advisors, however, suggests that production of 1.1 million EVs and a fleet of 3.5 million in China is a more realistic projection.

“Automobiles are major contributors to air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions,” said Renner.

“Greater fuel efficiency, along with the use of cleaner fuels, can help mitigate these impacts, although increases in the numbers of cars and the distances driven threaten to overwhelm fuel economy advances,” he added.

Highlights

The passenger vehicle fleet in China grew at an annual average rate of 25 per cent during 2000-11, from fewer than 10 million cars to 73 million cars.
The top four producers of light vehicles — China, USA, Japan, and Germany — together account for more than half of the global output.
Hybrid vehicles are growing in number, but they remain below 2 per cent of the total vehicle output.
Deadly facts

Approx. 1.3 million people get killed on roads every year.
70 per cent of air pollution in Chinese cities is from cars and trucks.
Obesity is linked to high levels of car and truck pollution — diesel busses and trucks are the worst.
Cars pollute the air, water and land.
Cars of China and the USA alone produce close to half of the world’s carbon dioxide.
What should be done?

Drive an electric car.
Drive less. Walk more and gain health.
Start a No Driving Day once a week.
Walk, bike, take the bus or train whenever possible.
Save your petrol-powered car for long trips.

Hi,

not many people would concur with me, i feel there is no need for metro in hyderabad if we can harness the potential of MMTS.
MMTS phase 2 covers a lot and phase 3 covers a lot on logistics front.

Hi sriece19,

I dont know from where you got the article but i really love it , i am great follower of MMTS, where on earth can you travel for 2 rs ,hows railways managing its just like a social service.

^^ MMTS doesn't run on dedicated tracks. As it has to share tracks with long distance trains etc., there are issues about its punctuality. And it cant be expanded easily by adding more trains for the same reason.

MMTS is at best is a very good alternative particularly for the weaker sections and to transport goods in the city.

^^ MMTS doesn't run on dedicated tracks. As it has to share tracks with long distance trains etc., there are issues about its punctuality. And it cant be expanded easily by adding more trains for the same reason.

MMTS is at best is a very good alternative particularly for the weaker sections and to transport goods in the city.

^^Agree with you. Currently MMTS in Hyderabad is the best means of transport when compared to road ways. Having said that, it lacks dedicated track which could have improved it's efficiency and demand.

APSRTC sees uptick in expenditure
(http://www.thehansindia.info/News/Article.asp?category=5&subCategory=1&ContentId=86688)
Hyderabad: The proposed Rs 5 hike per litre of diesel from Thursday midnight has come as a big blow to the APSRTC management which just aligned itself on a no loss track after several years.

Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) higher officials are a worried lot again as the hike in diesel price would scale up the expenditure burden. Due to price rise, the Corporation which buys around 50 crore litre of diesel per annum every year by spending Rs 2,250 crore would face an additional burden of Rs 250 crore, said a senior official.

fuels protest

Meanwhile, CPM state secretary B V Raghavulu demanded the government withdraw the hike in diesel price. He said the party would hold demonstrations against the decision from Friday.

Telugu Desam leader Y Ramakrishnudu condemned the hike and said it would have cascading effect on the prices of all essential commodities. The TDP demanded immediate rollback of the prices. The party leadership will discuss the issue on Friday and chalk out an action plan.

Train timings partially revised
(http://www.thehansindia.info/News/Article.asp?category=5&subCategory=1&ContentId=86893)
Hyderabad: South Central Railway (SCR) will partially revise timings of the following passenger trains for carrying out rolling in examination (manual testing of rake while the train is rolling into the station and at platform) from September 17.

Due to rolling in examination at Ramagundem, the timings of train no. 77255/77256 Karimnagar-Sirpur Town-Karimnagar Passenger will be partially revised between Peddapalli and Ramagundem stations. Accordingly, this train will arrive/depart Peddapalli at 8.40/8.42 am (instead of 8.40/8.50 am); Raghavapuram at 8.49/8.50 am instead of 8.57/8.58 am; and Ramagundem at 8.57/9.07 am instead of 9.06/ 9.07 am.
In the return direction, train no. 77256 Sirpur Town-Karimnagar Passenger will arrive/depart Ramagundem at 1.09/1.19 pm instead of 1.09/1.10 pm; Raghavapuram at 1.28/1.29 pm instead of 1.18/1.19 pm; and Peddapalli at 1.40/1.50 pm instead of 1.30/1.50 pm.

Similarly, due to rolling examination at Warangal station, the timings of train no. 77252/77251 Mahbubabad-Peddapalli-Mahbubabad Passenger will be partially revised between Yelgur and Warangal stations. Accordingly, train no. 77252 Mahbubabad-Peddapalli Passenger will arrive/depart Warangal at 4.25/4.35 pm instead of 4.25/4.30 pm.

In the return direction, train no. 77251 Peddapalli-Mahbubabad Passenger will arrive/depart Warangal at 10.33/10.53 am instead of 10.33/10.35 am; Chintapalli at 11.03/11.04 am instead of 10.48/10.49 am; and Yelgur at 11.07/11.08 am instead of 10.55/11.08 am.
There will not be any change in the timings of these trains at other en route stations.

Cab services clueless about CBD! (http://postnoon.com/2012/09/20/shock-cab-services-oblivious-of-cbd/74299)

Ignorance is indeed bliss. Neither the government nor any other organisation has made an effort to make the City’s cab services aware of the Meet and the need to refurbish their image. Visitors to the City will be left at the mercy of fleecing autos and decrepit cabs.

“Is it the same meeting where doctors are coming?” asks manager of one of the top cab services in the City. The remark is self-explanatory and we leave it to the readers to decide.

There are about 70,000 cars registered as taxis throughout of State. Of which 40 per cent are plying on the City roads. But the leading cab services in the City, with thousands of vehicles engaged for providing services by and large remain unaware of the CBD. There is neither any effort to cash in on the huge flow of people from inland and abroad. After the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport came into existence in Shamshabad, the cab industry has seen a new dawn. Shuttling between Airport and the City has increased the scope of industry and has generated a big boom compared with other neighbouring cities. But the government failed to provide any specific instructions to the management of the cabs on the most prestigious gala event happening in the City.

For instance, the Dot cab with its large fleet of vehicles plying on the City roads has not received any formal information from the authorities organising the event. “We do not have any information on what this conference is all about,” said Ajay Kumar, operations manager, Dot Cabs.

B Supraj of Green Cab, even though aware of the CBD conference, complaints that neither the government nor the GHMC has taken into consideration the cab services in the City. “It appears the government has engaged some other parties for providing special services,” he points out.

When this is the situation with well-organised Cab service-providers, one can imagine the state of affairs of individual taxi drivers. Many cannot explain what this conference means: “They are coming to find out the feasibility of investing in the City”, feels P Mahender, who runs a taxi from Dilsukhnagar to the airport.

Many traffic inspectors who deal with the traffic situation are not aware of the approximate number of cars in the City with taxi plates. “You need to refer to some RTI activist. It is hard to say how many cabs are there in the city,” said a police inspector.

Hyderabad: More AC buses to airport, Hitec City (http://ibnlive.in.com/news/hyderabad-more-ac-buses-to-airport-hitec-city/293465-62-131.html)

Hyderabad: In a bid to overcome losses, the APSRTC is planning to more number of air-conditioned buses to the Shamshabad airport and Hitec City. At present, the corporation is operating 20 AC buses to the airport and 40 to Hitec City from various points in the twin cities. The RTC , which is operating 80 AC buses in the twin cities, is incurring losses to the tune of Rs 1 crore a month on air-conditioned buses because of low occupancy ratio which is just 45 to 50 percent.
Greater Hyderabad zone executive director A Koteswara Rao said they urged airport officials to stop operating Aero Express services to the airport from different places in the twin cities and offered to operate RTC buses in place of Aero Express buses. They also offered special packages and monthly passes to airport employees. Airport officials gave positive response and the talks were continuing, he said.
If airport officials agreed to the RTC proposal, special training and uniform will be provided to the drivers and the bus colour will be changed. The corporation also held talks with some IT companies offering to transport their employees. Three companies came forward to utilise RTC services, he claimed. Monthly passes and packages will be offered to IT professionals.

Special MMTS trains for Nimajjanam (http://ibnlive.in.com/news/special-mmts-trains-for-nimajjanam/293643-60-121.html)

South Central Railway (SCR) will run eight special MMTS trains in Hyderabad and Secunderabad between September 29 and 30.
Secunderabad-Hyderabad MMTS will depart Secunderabad at 23.30 hrs. Hyderabad-Lingampalli will depart Hyderabad at 00.30 hrs. Lingampalli-Hyderabad will depart Lingampalli at 01.50 hrs. Hyderabad-Secunderabad will depart Hyderabad at 03.30 hrs. Hyderabad-Lingampalli MMTS will depart Hyderabad at 23.00 hrs. Lingampalli-Falaknuma MMTS will depart Lingampalli at 00 10 hrs.

Hyderabad: 10-13% hike likely in RTC bus fares (http://ibnlive.in.com/news/hyderabad-1013-hike-likely-in-rtc-bus-fares/293822-62-131.html)

Hyderabad: The AP State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) bus fare hike appears to be imminent in the wake of the Rs 5 hike in the price of diesel. The corporation is proposing a 10 to 13 per cent increase in fares.
Its vice-chairman and managing director AK Khan on Thursday discussed the proposal with transport minister Botcha Satyanarayana at the Assembly and sought government clearance for the hike. Botcha, after examining the proposal, is expected to forward it to chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy for final decision.
APSRTC had already said that the hike in diesel price would place an additional burden of Rs 350 crore. This is excluding Rs 50 crore of VAT.

Hi,

But i still think that if they could have spent 1 % of what they are spending on metro on MMTS our roads wouldnt be clogged this much.

HYDERABAD, September 22, 2012 PVNR Expressway gets reflective median markers


The PVNR Expressway after the reflective markers were installed. Photo: G. Ramakrishna
PVNR Expressway is getting reflective median markers to ensure safety and driving comfort on the country’s longest elevated expressway.

The Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) has taken up the work at a cost of around Rs.49 lakh for the entire 11.6 km stretch connecting the core city with the international airport at Shamshabad.

Reflective markers ensure that drivers at nights can be properly guided. The markers get illuminated by the light from the vehicle headlamps and will help in ‘better navigation and safety’, an official said.

The work has begun and has been completed at the trumpet interchange near Shamshabad and also the underpass at Aramgarh. “The entire stretch has been taken up for marking and 90 per cent work is completed,” he said.

HMDA authorities are looking at opening one more ramp to the expressway by early November. Of a total of six ramps, only three have been opened for traffic and the work on the fourth, an up-ramp at Upparpally, is headed for completion.

“We hope to finish it by October-end and open it soon for traffic,” the official said. A down-ramp at Aramgarh has just started to take shape and is expected to take at least nine months for completion.

The sixth ramp proposed at Laxminagar remains stuck in delays due to land acquisition issues. If shifting of a place of worship here has run into issues, even acquiring a parcel of land from the defence has not been attended to so far.

The HMDA officials maintained that the GHMC had to take care of these issues and ramp work could commence only after these bottlenecks were cleared.

Malkajgiri: more trains needed to cater to rising demand (http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Hyderabad/malkajgiri-more-trains-needed-to-cater-to-rising-demand/article3925668.ece)

It’s hard to believe, but it’s true. There are only seven local trains to cater to the needs of over 120 colonies with a population of more than one-and-a-half lakh. The lack of proper civic amenities and a viable public transportation system have forced people to believe that Malkajgiri is receiving step-motherly treatment.

There were more than 20 local trains plying between Secunderabad and Bolarum till July. After the new time-table came into effect, these services have been cut down to a mere seven, rues Noor, the General Secretary of Suburban Train and Bus Travellers Association. Because of this reduction, people are forced to use RTC buses or their private vehicles thereby increasing the burden on the already overburdened roads, he says.

However, the reduction of local train services has been gradual, Mr. Noor explains. “The main problem is that the diesel locomotives are being converted into electrical ones and are being diverted towards Falaknuma, though there are MMTS services running on that line. This practice is being taken up at the cost of connectivity between Malkajgiri and Secunderabad,” he says.

NO COORDINATION

There is also a problem of lack of coordination between Hyderabad and Secunderabad divisions of the South Central Railway, he says. “Four of the seven local services are being diverted towards Kachiguda, from Malkajgiri, as they operate in the Hyderabad division. Most commuters from Malkajgiri go towards Secunderabad and because of this diversion, local services are of no use,” he explains.

The proposed MMTS Phase-II is hanging fire for long, and as and when it materialises, the metro rail station will only be at Mettuguda. While most other areas in the city have either MMTS facilities or can hope to get metro lines, the densely populated Malkajgiri is being left out, residents complain.

“Malkajgiri is a landlocked area surrounded by railway lines on all sides. Because of this, it makes sense to provide better connectivity through local trains,” a resident of Malkajgiri, P. Laxman, observes.

Life taxes on vehicles set to be hiked (http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Hyderabad/life-taxes-on-vehicles-set-to-be-hiked/article3925673.ece)

If you are buying a new vehicle this festive season, be prepared to shell out more money towards taxes. For, the Transport Department is planning to increase the life tax on two-wheelers and four-wheelers.

Currently, the life tax on a two-wheeler is 9 per cent of its cost and 12 per cent in respect of four-wheelers. Authorities are now planning to increase the life tax of two-wheelers costing more than Rs. 50,000 by one per cent and by two per cent for four-wheelers priced above Rs. 10 lakh.

“Proposals for increasing the tax have already been sent to government for approval. We are waiting for the green signal,” confirmed Transport Commissioner Sanjay Kumar. He maintained that the hike would be a meagre one. This hike, if approved, could get an additional revenue of Rs. 300 crore in a year.

The Transport Department nets about Rs. 1,200 crore every year all over the State and Hyderabad alone contributes about Rs. 400 crore per annum. Statistics show that about 800 new vehicles are registered in Hyderabad and Ranga Reddy districts everyday.

Given the poor sales of automobiles since last one year and rising fuel costs, the revenue collection has been affected adversely. Hence the hike in life tax was mooted, explained another official.

DEALERS APPREHENSIVE

However, automobile dealers in the city are apprehensive about the move. The vehicle sales are not encouraging and a tax hike now could affect the sales further, felt P.T. Chowdhary, Chairman A.P. Motor Vehicles Dealers Association. The vehicle sellers look for Dasara-Diwali season during which vehicle purchases peak. But a hike in life tax at this junction could mean yet another poor season for dealers, he adds.

South Central Railway to Run Special Trains for Diwali (http://www.aegindia.org/2012/09/south-central-railway-run-special-trains-diwali-2/212613.html)

South Central Railway to Run Special Trains for Diwali

Hyderabad: South Central Railway is to run special trains to meet the rush of passengers during Diwali festival. Twelve special trains will be run for the convenience of the passengers to go their native places. These trains will run from 5th November to 18th November in Hyderabad-Visakhapatnam, Hyderabad-Bangalore, Aurangabad-Tirupati routes. This was informed by South central Railway on 21st September, 2012. The details of the trains are given below.

Train no. 07148 Hyderabad – Visakhapatnam Special: This service will leave Hyderabad on 9th and 16th November at 7.30 pm and reach Visakhapatnam the next day at 8.30 pm. From Visakhapatnam the train begins on 10th and 17th November at 7.05 pm.

Train no. 07128 Hyderabad – Santragachi Special: This train will leave Hyderabad on 5th November, 2012 at 9.50 pm and reach Santragachi on 7th November at 2.50 am. It begins its return journey on the same day at 9.30 am.

Train no. 07405 Aurangabad-Tirupati special: This special train leaves for Aurangabad on 9th November, 2012 at 6.40 pm and reach Tirupati the next day at 7.00 pm. From there it will start to Aurangabad at 9.15 pm on the same day.

Train no. 07685 Kachiguda – Bangalore special: This special service introduced for Diwali by South Central Railway will leave from Kachiguda on 10th and 17th November at 10.00 pm, 2012 and reach Bangalore the next day at 12.45 pm. From there it leaves for Hyderabad on 11th and 18th November at 1.45 pm.

South Central Railway has changed the timings of many trains. Secunderabad – Pune – Secunderabad Satabdi express, Nizamabad – Kachiguda DEMU passenger, Manoharabad – Secunderabad DEMU passenger, Secunderabad – Medchal passenger, Kachiguda – Bodhan passenger are among the services, timings of which are changed.

Minimum bus fare Rs.5 now (http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Hyderabad/minimum-bus-fare-rs5-now/article3931440.ece)

Student passes exempted; A/C bus fares remain same

In a jolt to commuters, APSRTC on Sunday increased the minimum fare for city ordinary buses from Rs.4 to Rs.5 and enhanced the cost of monthly bus passes by Rs.100.

The student general passes have been exempted from the hike which comes into effect from Monday.

While the minimum fare in Metro Express buses remains the same, authorities have increased the fare from second stage onwards in these buses. Interestingly, there is no hike in air-conditioned bus fares.

The fares were revised due to the recent hike in diesel prices to help cover some losses.

RS. 144 CRORE LOSS

RTC suffered a loss of Rs.144 crore last year and about Rs.25 crore till August this year.

Everyday the Greater Hyderabad zone of RTC incurs a loss of Rs.30 lakh due to operational costs, poor seat occupancy ratio and other factors.

Ever since the diesel prices were increased, the zone is suffering additional loss of about Rs.12 lakh a day, explained Greater Hyderabad zone Executive Director A. Koteswara Rao.

“Despite losses, the minimum fare in ordinary buses is increased after eight years. Even after the revised fares, we would suffer losses to the tune of Rs.15 lakh everyday as the hike is not commensurate with difference in operational costs,” defends Mr. Rao.

INCREASED FARES

In addition to increasing the bus fares, authorities have also escalated the cost of all bus passes by Rs.100.

As a result, the general bus pass that used to cost Rs.550 will now cost Rs.650, Express bus pass has been increased from Rs.650 to Rs.750 and the AC bus pass from Rs.850 to Rs.950.

Every month, RTC issues about 2 lakh passes, including general, express, deluxe and air-conditioned buses.

ADDITIONAL REVENUE

Authorities expect to generate additional revenue of Rs.2 crore per month by increasing the cost of bus passes.

https://fbcdn-sphotos-f-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/556986_439200769459030_1093849000_n.jpg

^^ The fares keep on increasing yet the buses are the same old ones :ohno:

^^ The fares keep on increasing yet the buses are the same old ones :ohno:

I was at JBS the other day, and RTC's bleeding like crazy. They have taken a loan of 2400 crores and the "vaddi" is 400 crores per year. A fare rise will lessen the burden..

http://lite.epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/TOIH/2012/09/25/3/Img/Pc0031500.jpg
Several solar traffic signals,one like this at Taj Krishna junction,Road No 1,Banjara Hills,are being installed at various places in the city as part of the HTRIMS project

:cheers:

SCR to run special trains for Tirupati, Hyderabad (http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Vijayawada/scr-to-run-special-trains-for-tirupati-hyderabad/article3938386.ece)

Two special trains will be run by the South Central Railway to clear the extra rush of passengers during the Deepavali festival season.

One will be Aurangabad –Tirupati–Aurangabad and the other will be a weekly Hyderabad-Santragachi- Hyderabad special.

No. 07405 Aurangabad-Tirupati train will depart Aurangabad on November 9 (Friday) at 6.40 p.m., arrive/depart Vijayawada on November 10 at 11.45 a.m./12.00 noon., and reach Tirupati at 7 p.m.

In the return direction, No.07406 Tirupati-Aurangabad special will depart Tirupati on November 10 ( Saturday) at 9.15 p.m., arrive/depart Vijayawada on November 11 at 3.55 a.m./4.05 a.m., and reach Aurangabad at 8.30 p.m.

These trains will halt at Jalna, Parbhani, Purna, Nanded, Mudkhed, Basar, Nizamabad, Kamareddi, Secunderabad, Kazipet, Warangal, Khammam, Vijayawada, Tenali, Chirala, Ongole, Nellore, Gudur, Venkatagiri, Srikalahasti, and Renigunta stations in both the directions. The trains will consist of one AC 2 tier, one AC-3 tier, six sleeper class, six general second class, and two second class luggage-cum-brake van coaches.

The weekly Hyderabad-Santragachi-Hyderabad (No. 07128) will depart Hyderabad on Monday, November 5, at 9.50 p.m., arrive /depart Vijayawada at 4.15 a.m./4.35 a.m., and reach Santragachi at 2.50 a.m. the second day.

In the return direction, Train No. 07127 Santragachi-Hyderabad weekly will depart Santragachi on Wednesday, November 7, at 9.30 a.m., arrive/depart Vijayawada at 5.30 a.m./5.50 am., and arrive Hyderabad at 12.30 p.m. the next day.

It will halt at Secunderabad, Kazipet, Warangal, Khammam, Madhira, Vijayawada, Eluru, Tadepalligudem, Rajahmundry, Samalkot, Annavaram, Tuni, Anakapalli, Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram, Srikakulam, Palasa, Brahmapur, Khurda Road, Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Bhadrak, Balasore, and Kharagpur stations in both the directions.

Four special trains will run between Hyderabad and Visakhapatnami. Train No. 07148 Hyderabad-Visakhapatnam special will depart Hyderabad on Fridays (November 9 and 16) at 7.30 p.m., arrive/depart Vijayawada at 2 a.m./2.20 a.m., and reach Visakhapatnam at 8.30 a.m. the next day.

In the return direction, Train No. 07147 Visakhapatnam-Hyderabad special will depart Visakhapatnam on Saturdays (November 10 and 17) at 7.05 p.m., arrive/depart Vijayawada at 2 a.m./2.20 a.m., and reach Hyderabad at 8.50 a.m. the next day.

The trains will halt at Secunderabad, Kazipet, Warangal, Khammam, Madhira, Vijayawada, Eluru, Tadepalligudem, Rajahmundry, Samalkot, Annavaram, Tuni, Anakapalle, and Duvvada stations in both the directions.

Work at bus station in Falaknuma running late (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/Work-at-bus-station-in-Falaknuma-running-late/articleshow/16580642.cms)

HYDERABAD: The Falaknuma bus station which was set for inauguration in early 2012 is far from complete. The slow paced execution of construction work has resulted in an endless wait for commuters from the Old City who dreamt of respite from running to Charminar bus station to avail basic services like bus pass application.

The police department had transferred five acres of land to APSRTC in 2006 for developing a bus station. The sanction came during Y S Rajasekhara Reddy's rule in 2009 and work started in 2010. The bus station is coming up on one acre of the total land with the remaining left for development of a bus depot. A wall separates the contiguous bus depot land from the bus station. The cost of the project is estimated at Rs 10 crore.

According to APSRTC officials, they were taken aback by the task on the ground which they had underestimated while drawing plans. Two small water bodies in the area proved to be a major hurdle. The officials did not expect to find sewerage lines of the locality emptying here. Draining the slush and water caused delay in commencing work, they said.

Land disputes too proved a major hindrance for the APSRTC. Some portion of the land that was handed by the police department was occupied by locals. Negotiations with occupiers also delayed the start. Some of the contested area has been segregated while other portions which have been claimed by the locals are yet to be demarcated.

With various contractors being designated with different tasks, the pace of the work was further delayed. Sources said the project has yielded negligible profits to the contractors, the reason which they put the work on back burner.

Bilal Ahmed, an intermediate student from Chandrayangutta said the delay has caused major inconvenience to the students. "We have to go to Charminar bus station to get our bus passes which is too small to accommodate the increasing number of commuters," he said.

An official of APSRTC said the building construction is nearing completion. "We faced problems with contractors and labour, as they were not willing to work in this area. The work is likely to finish by the end of this year," said an official. He added that tenders will soon be called for development of the adjoining bus depot.

Escalators to replace staircases at Sec’bad Railway Station
(http://www.thehansindia.info/News/Article.asp?category=5&subCategory=1&ContentId=89550)
Hyderabad: With the proposed modernisation works at Secunderabad Railway Station, the commuters might face inconvenience as the railway officials will undertake installation of escalators by demolishing the existing staircases.

SCR will install seven escalators on platforms 1 to 9 (at middle foot over bridge) of Secunderabad station.

As the installation of escalators necessitates dismantling of the existing staircases connecting platforms 1 to 9, the foot over bridge (located in the middle) will not be available for use during the period mentioned.

However, out of two staircases of the middle FOB, only one (Kazipet side) will be dismantled while the other (Hyderabad side) will be operational. At platforms 8 and 9, the dismantling of staircase will commence from September 30 and the same will not be available for use upto January 5, 2013. The escalator is likely to be commissioned on January 3, 2013.

At platforms 6 and 7, the dismantling will commence from October 5, 2012, and will not be available for passengers upto January 15, 2013. The escalator is likely to be commissioned on January 5, 2013. At platform 1, the dismantling of staircase will commence from October 10, 2012, and the same will not be available for passengers upto January 25, 2013.

The escalator is likely to be commissioned on January 15, 2013. At platforms 4 and 5, the dismantling will commence from October 15, 2012. The escalator is likely to be commissioned on January 20. At platforms 2 and 3, the dismantling of staircase will commence from October 20. The escalator here is likely to be commissioned on January 25, 2013.

^^ :banana: I hope it goes according to schedule & minimum inconvenience to passengers

^^ :banana: I hope it goes according to schedule & minimum inconvenience to passengers

Are the MMTS platforms also being given escalators?

Yes as the article says platforms 6 & 7 will also get escalators

Hyderabad: Several trains cancelled ahead of Telangana march (http://ibnlive.in.com/news/telangana-march-several-trains-cancelled-in-hyderabad/296476-62-127.html)

Hyderabad: In a move which angered Telangana protagonists, the railways have cancelled over 40 trains and all local and sub-urban train services in Hyderabad in view of Sunday's Telangana march.
In an attempt to prevent people from other districts of Telangana from reaching Hyderabad, the South Central Railway cancelled 12 express and 25 passenger trains. Another two express and five passenger trains have also been partially cancelled.
The railways also cancelled all sub-urban train services and Multi-Modal Transport Service (MMTS) or local trains.

The railways' move, which reportedly came on the advise of Andhra Pradesh Police, evoked sharp reaction from Congress MPs from Telangana. They lodged their protest with railway officials and the state government.
The cancellation of trains was announced even as Telangana Joint Action Committee (JAC) accused the government of creating hurdles to foil the march despite giving permission for it.
Telangana Joint Action Committee (JAC) convenor M. Kodandaram and other leaders alleged that the police were continuing to arrest Telangana activists coming to the city from various Telangana districts.
They demanded that the arrests be stopped immediately and both the government and the police cooperate with the JAC in the conduct of peaceful march on the banks of Hussain Sagar.
Kodandaram, JAC leader Srinivas Goud, Telangana Jagruthi president Kavita and others met Police Commissioner Anurag Sharma and demanded that the police stop creating hurdles and release those arrested during the last few days.
After several days of stand-off, the government Friday night gave permission for the march albeit with certain conditions. The JAC is allowed to conduct the march only on Necklace Road while it wanted to have the protest on Tank Bund as well.
Police Saturday issued orders giving permission for the march. They said the march can be held only on the Buddha Bhavan-P.V. Ghat stretch from 3 pm to 7 pm.
Kodandaram was hopeful that despite the repressive measures by the government, Telangana supporters in large numbers would turn out for the march. "We will announce our future course of action at the march," he told reporters.
Leaders of JAC, Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), Communist Party of India (CPI), Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and organisations of employees, teachers, students, lawyers, journalists and people from other walks of life decided to start rallies from different points in the city and gather at Necklace Road.
Eight Congress MPs from the Telangana region have announced their decision to participate in the march. The state ministers from the region, who played a key role in obtaining permission for the march, may also participate in the protest.
BJP leader Vidyasagar Rao, however, cautioned the Congress MPs and ministers that their participation in the march could create law and order problems as the people of Telangana were unhappy with the Congress for its failure to carve out a separate state.
In a related development, the government refused to permit Osmania University students from taking out a rally from the campus to Necklace Road. Leaders of students met Home Minister Sabita Indra Reddy and said they want to join the march in a rally from the campus but she refused to grant permission.
Revolutionary balladeer Gaddar also visited Hussain Sagar Saturday to declare his support for the Telangana march. He appealed to people to turn out in large numbers and give a strong message to the central government.

SCR Special Trains between Hyd-Gulbarga for Hazrath Khaja Banda Nawaj Urs (http://www.aegindia.org/2012/09/scr-special-trains-hydgulbarga-hazrath-khaja-banda-nawaj-urs-2/214145.html)

SCR Special Trains between Hyd-Gulbarga for Hazrath Khaja Banda Nawaj Urs

Hyderabad: South Central Railway has announced that it will run special trains for Hazrath Khaja Banda Nawaj Urs at Gulbarga. The Urs is a famous celebration and people from all walks of life come to participate in it irrespective of caste and creed. It is a three day celebration and people from all over India assemble to seek the blessings of Hazrath Khaja Banda Nawaz. The special trains introduced by South Central Railway are as follows –

Train no. 7178: This train will leave for Gulbarga from Hyderabad on 1st October at 10.00 pm and reach Gulbarga the next morning at 4.15 am. It again starts from Gulbarga at 5.25 am on the same day and reach Hyderabad at 11.30 am.
No. 7180: This service begins at 5.30 am from Hyderabad and reaches Gulbarga at 11.20 am. It begins its return journey to Hyderabad at 12.55 noon from Gulbarga and reaches Hyderabad at 6.35 pm. This train travels via Begumpet, Sanath Nagar, Hafizpet, Lingampally, Nagaulapalli, Shankarpalli, Ravulapalli kalan, Gollaguda, Chittigidda, Vikarabad, Godamguda, Mylaram, Rukmapur, Tandur, Mantati, Kurgunta, Seram, Malked Road, Chittapur, Sulehalli and Wadi stations.
Railway is also running special trains between Nanded and Jammu-tawi between 1stOctober, 2012 and 28th November, 2012. Train no. 02422 will begin from Jammu-Tawi on 1st, 8th, 15th, 22nd October and 5th, 12th, 19th and 26th of November, 2012 at 9.45 and reaches Nanded on the next day at 11.45 pm. From Nanded it will start it journey on 3rd, 10th, 17th, 24th, 31st of October and 7th , 14th, 21st and 28th of November, 2012 at 11.00 am and reach Jammu-tawi the next day.

Escalators to replace staircases at Sec’bad Railway Station
(http://www.thehansindia.info/News/Article.asp?category=5&subCategory=1&ContentId=89550)
Has anyone of you visited the station in the past few days? The article says demolition was supposed to start Sep 30

Mayor calls for proper maintainence of bus shelters (http://www.thehansindia.info/News/Article.asp?category=5&subCategory=1&ContentId=90637)

Directs officials to ensure required facilities
Asks zonal commissioner to clean Hussain Sagar lake on war footing
Hyderabad: Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) Mayor Mohammed Majid Hussain on Monday directed the civic officials to ensure that bus shelters in the city were maintained properly with good seating facilities and without illegal advertisements.

Instead of displaying the route maps and arrival/departure timings of the city buses, these spaces are being utilised to display advertisements which is highly objectionable, pointed out the Mayor.
Accompanied by GHMC Commissioner M T Krishna Babu and other higher officials of the corporation, Majid Hussain inspected the entire Tank Bund stretch where the Ganesh immersion was held few days ago.

In response to the objections raised by the Mayor regarding the sad state of affairs at the bus shelters, Commissioner M T Krishna Babu directed the Zonal Commissioner (Central) to call for a meeting with the concerned officials to make sure that the bus shelters were maintained properly.

Meanwhile, the Mayor directed the Zonal Commissioner (Central) to take up the proper cleaning of the lake on war footing basis right from the main entrance of the Tank Bund to Buddha Bhavan and Sanjeevaiah Park areas. Works for clearing stagnated water with the help of pumps from Buddha Bhavan until NTR Marg (around 4 km) should also be undertaken at the earliest, stated the Mayor.

Majid Hussain also instructed the engineering officials to complete the footpath improvement and painting works on either side of the Tank Bund road from main entrance till Hotel Marriott by October 5 as the delegates and VVIPs coming for the Biodiversity Summit might visit the said stretch in the coming days.

He also told the HMDA contractor doing the dredging and cleaning work at Tank Bund to complete the work in the next three days. M T Krishna Babu assured that he would speak to the HMDA commissioner to make sure that the work was completed on time.

Ronald Rose, IAS, Zonal Commissioner (Central); L Vandan Kumar, Additional Commissioner (Health & Sanitation), and other officials of the GHMC took part in the visit.

MMTS back on tracks from today (http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Hyderabad/mmts-back-on-tracks-from-today/article3956103.ece)

All the MMTS trains that were cancelled in the city on Monday will resume operations on Tuesday, according to the South Central Railway (SCR) authorities. In view of the damage to signalling equipment at Hussainsagar Junction Cabin, the SCR had cancelled all MMTS trains.

However, a few express trains, particularly those arriving into the city on Tuesday, remain cancelled.

Cancelled trains

The trains cancelled include Chennai Central-Hyderabad Express scheduled to depart Chennai Central at 4. 45 p.m., train no.17031 CST Mumbai-Hyderabad Express scheduled to depart CST Mumbai at 12.45 p.m., train no.17013 Pune-Hyderabad Express scheduled to depart Pune at 2.15 p.m., train no.17430 Tirupati-Hyderabad Rayalaseema Express scheduled to depart Tirupati at 4.25 p.m., train no.12727 Vishakapatnam-Hyderabad Godavari Express scheduled to depart Vishakapatnam at 5.25 p.m., and train no.17255 Narsapur-Hyderabad Express scheduled to depart Narsapur at 6.55 p.m. Train No 17004 CSMT (Kolhapur)-Hyderabad scheduled to depart CSTM Kolhapur at 7.30 a.m. on Tuesday also remains cancelled, a press note said.

APSRTC to Operate 3522 Special Buses for Dussehra, Bakrid 2012 (http://www.aegindia.org/2012/10/3522-special-dussehra-bakrid-apsrtc-buses-hyderabad/214505.html)

APSRTC to Operate 3522 Special Buses for Dusshera, Bakrid

Hyderabad: Come Dussehra and Bakrid season, people from Hyderabad go to their native places to spend the festivals with their relatives. There will be heavy demand for buses during this season as this is the time when schools will be having first term holidays. APSRTC Greater Hyderabad executive director has informed that they will be running 3,522 special buses from Hyderabad to various destinations during this season. These will be available from 12th October to 26th October, 2012.

APSRTC will run special buses during Dussehra and Bakrid festivals. 2,899 buses will be running from Mahatma Gandhi Bus Station, Hyderabad and another 623 will run from Jubilee Bus Station. APSRTC will collect special charges on tickets for these services. APSRTC Executive Director informed that since the seats in some regular buses are still not booked, the reservation for special buses is not available now. Reservation for special buses will be available in two to three days from now, he informed. APSRTC will also arrange shuttle services to passengers from MGBS who have to go to Dilsukhnagar, Picket and Uppal. For more details passengers can contact the officials on 99593 26126, 77023 99906.

Buses that go to Suryapet, Kodada, Nalgonda and Miryalguda will start from Dilsukhnagar bus station
Buses to Kurnool, Chittoor, Kadapa, Anantapur district will run from old Central Bus Station.
All the buses that go to Karimnagar, Adilabad, Nizamabad and Medak districts will run from Jubilee Bus Station.
Buses to Medak, Nizamabad, Karimnagar and Adilabad districts will runs from JBS.
RTC ED has also informed that based on the traffic conditions, along with special buses for Dussehra and Bakrid all the normal services will also run from the above bus stations.

Spl trains between Sec’bad-Kakinada (http://www.thehansindia.info/News/Article.asp?category=5&subCategory=1&ContentId=92115)

Hyderabad: Aiming to clear extra rush of passengers during Vijaya Dashami festival, South Central Railway decided to run 13 special AC trains between Secunderabad and Kakinada from October 13 till October 31.

Train No. 07101 Secunderabad- Kakinada Town AC Special Train will depart Secunderabad at 11.40 pm on October 13 and arrive Kakinada Town at 11.30 am on the next day. En route this train will stop at Kazipet, Khammam, Vijayawada, Gudivada, Akivedu, Bhimavaram Town, Tanuku, Rajahmundry and Samalkot.

Train No. 07201 Kakinada Town-Secunderabad AC Special Train will depart Kakinada Town at 10.15 pm on October 18, 21, 23, 25, 28, and 30 and arrive Secunderabad at 8.50 am on the following day.

In the return direction, Train No. 07202 Secunderabad-Kakinada Town AC Special Train will depart Secunderabad at 8.45 pm on October 19, 22, 24, 26, 29 and 31 and arrive Kakinada Town at 7.05 am the following day.

En route, this train will stop at Samalkot, Rajahmundry, Tanuku, Bhimavaram Town, Akivedu, Gudivada, Vijayawada, Khammam and Warangal. These special trains will consist of sixteen coaches including one first class AC, three AC II tier, ten AC III tier coaches.

Coaches of Duronto Express in a bad shape (http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Visakhapatnam/coaches-of-duronto-express-in-a-bad-shape/article3987497.ece)

In contrast, Shalimar Express, to be introduced soon, gets a better deal

Even as the prestigious Secunderabad – Visakhapatnam Duronto AC Express is running with over a decade old overused Rajdhani rakes, the Rail Coach Factory (RCF), Kapurthala, has released LHB coaches for use on the Secunderabad – Shalimar (Kolkata) ordinary AC express train, which is likely to be introduced soon. There is another weekly ordinary express train running on the same route.

The RCF has allotted 20 LHB coaches in its order issued on Monday. While the train would have 14 or 15 coaches, the remaining would be maintained as ‘spare coaches’ by SCR.

It may be recalled that the Railway Board had announced in the past and is also allocating rakes directly from the coach factory to various zones with first preference in the allotment of LHB coaches given to Rajdhani Express trains followed by Duronto trains.

The South Central Railway (SCR) should use the LHB rakes for the Duronto and the old Rajadhani rake to the Shalimar Express, feel those who have been watching the developments.

It may be recalled that the prestigious Secunderabad – Visakhapatnam Duronto Express, operated by South Central Railway, has been allotted old rake of the Bengaluru – Nizamuddin Rajdhani Express.

COMPLAINTS GALORE

The non-stop AC Duronto, which runs at high speed, requires better coaches which can withstand the heat generated. It isn’t surprising that there are complaints of AC failure on the Secunderabad – Visakhapatnam Duronto apart from wobbling at higher speeds.

The Shalimar Express has several stops and there is no reason why it should be given preferential treatment in the allotment of LHB rakes while ignoring the Secunderabad – Visakhapatnam Duronto Express.

The allocation of the LHB rake to a weekly train would mean that the coaches would remain ‘idle’ for three days in a week at the Secunderabad coaching complex. The rake would be sufficient to run the tri-weekly Secunderabad – Visakhapatnam Duronto.

The AC 3-tier and AC 2-tier berths on Visakhapatnam – Secunderabad Duronto and on the return trip are booked on all days of its operation and for the ensuing Dasara vacation there is a huge ‘waiting list’ before and after the festival.

It’s high time our MPs exerted pressure on the SCR and the Railway Board officials and saw that the LHB coaches allotted to Shaliamar ordinary AC Express were swapped with the Duronto.

GHMC plans effective traffic management (http://www.thehansindia.info/News/Article.asp?category=5&subCategory=1&ContentId=92727)

The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) wants to take forward the Traffic Impact Assessment so that it can prepare guidelines for effective traffic management and appoint a consultant for the purpose, GHMC Commissioner M T Krishna Babu said on Wednesday.

Following a meeting regarding Traffic Impact Assessment with officials of Traffic Police, HMDA, NGOs, JNTU, NIT, Warangal, he said that the GHMC would put up a proposal in this regard before the state government.

He mentioned that the GHMC wanted to take up the study along with bigger establishments like JNTU. Guidelines would be prepared on the basis of traffic generated based on the area and the sizes of buildings. Already Banjara Hills and Kong Kothi areas have been included in the category of restricted areas, according to Government Order Ms No 86.

C V Anand, Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic), K Dhanunjay Reddy, Additional Commissioner (Planning), V Madhwa Raja, C E, HMDA, Dr P Shravani, Professor, JNTU, and some NGOs participated in the meeting.

GHMC plans effective traffic management (http://www.thehansindia.info/News/Article.asp?category=5&subCategory=1&ContentId=92727)

They should stop passing the time with more consultants and studies and should seriously consider implementing the suggestions made by LEA Associates in their Comprehensive Transportation Study (CTS).

Loving the all new HTRIMS Traffic Lights, they look so damn cool & futuristic, so pleasing to the eyes. :)

Really they are installed? At which signal ?

^^ Where else? should be in the area where there is CoP delegate movement.

Kailash, I do not see cameras or timers on these poles. Are they placed on a separate pole?

http://lite.epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/TOIH/2012/09/25/3/Img/Pc0031500.jpg
Several solar traffic signals,one like this at Taj Krishna junction,Road No 1,Banjara Hills,are being installed at various places in the city as part of the HTRIMS project

^^ Where else? should be in the area where there is CoP delegate movement.

Kailash, I do not see cameras or timers on these poles. Are they placed on a separate pole?

They are being placed at most of the major junctions, they are supposd to cover rest of the city in the upcoming months. Atleast these Solar Powered LED lights are not an eyesore like the previous ones, It is to be seen how they maintain them on a long run.


http://imageshack.us/a/img571/2553/pc0031500.jpg

You can observe in the picture, there are four rows of Lights, 1st one is the timer, Second - Red Light, Third - Amber, Fourth - Green.

Traffic cops penalise erring APSRTC drivers on the spot (http://www.thehansindia.info/News/Article.asp?category=5&subCategory=1&ContentId=92807)

Hyderabad: With unbending behaviour of RTC drivers who continue to violate traffic rules, despite several campaigns and special drives, the city traffic police are forced to make changes in their correctional strategies.

In view of the obstruction to the flow of traffic due to stopping of buses on the road and the lenience for APSRTC being public organisation, the traffic police used to impose fine on erring RTC drivers by sending challans to their respective bus depot managers, while letting off the drivers.

The APSRTC used to ask the traffic rule violating bus drivers to pay the fine on their violation, and on failing to do so the Corporation used to deduct the fine amount from the monthly payment.
The city traffic police have finally realised that the kind of attitude towards RTC is only spoiling the erring drivers.

“The challan system of fining is bearing less impact on the erring drivers who get the pinch of their mistake only after a month when they see the pay cut in salary. So we have made changes in delayed penalising system and fine the erring drivers on the spot,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic) PVS Ramakrishna.

The Hyderabad Traffic Police (HTP), which is now focusing on disciplining the RTC drivers to halt the bus within the corridor of bus bays, has slapped fine on nearly 300 drivers in the twin cities in two days.

The HTP, which did not get the desired results in their recent special drives and campaigns, is working along with the APSRTC officials at the ground level to check on the traffic violation by the drivers.

It can be noted that the accident rate (by RTC buses) which was 0.09 per cent per lakh kilometre has come down only slightly by 0.3 per cent in the last four to five years.

There have been cases of jumping signals, drunken driving and cell phone driving even after conducting special drives to educate them. The cases of RTC buses jumping signal and stopline, reckless driving, not stopping vehicles at bus bays are also on the increase.

SCR Special Trains for Dusshera, Diwali between Sec’bd-Tirupati, Karimnagar-Tirupati (http://www.aegindia.org/2012/10/scr-special-trains-dusshera-diwali-secbdtirupati-karimnagartirupati/214861.html)

SCR Special Trains for Dusshera, Diwali between Sec’bd-Tirupati, Karimnagar-Tirupati

South Central Railway CPRO K Sambasiva Rao has informed in that eight special trains will run between Secunderabad –Tirupati, Karimnagar-Tirupati for Dusshera and Diwali. Dusshera and Diwali festival season is most peak season for the trains and to meet the demand, Railways run special trains. Given below is the schedule of few special trains that would be run between Secunderabad-Tirupati, Karimnagar-Tirupati during the festival season. Passengers can utilize these services and they should make reservations well in advance to avoid inconvenience.

Secunderabad-Tirupati

Train no. 02732, the special trains run by SCR for Dusshera and Diwali will start from Secunderabad on 18th and 25tth October at 8.05 pm and reach Tirupati the next morning at 10.35 am. These will start from Tirupati on 21st and 28th October at 04.00 am and reach Secunderabad at 7.05 am the next day. These special trains will halt at Begum pet, Lingam ally, Vikarabad, Raichur, Guntakal, Gutti, Anantapuram, Dhramavaram, Kadiri, Mulkala Cheruvu, Madanpalle, Kalikiri, Peeleru and Pakala stations.
Special trains between Karimnagar-Tirupati

SCR special festival trains bearing the number 02762 begin from Karimnagar on 19th and 26th October at 6.50 pm and reach Tirupati the next morning at 8.35. Train no. 02761 begging from Tirupati on 20th and 27th October and at 4.45 pm and reach Karimnagar the next day at 4.25 pm. These special trains will halt at Peddapalli, Jammikunta, Warangal, Mahabubabad, Khammam, Madhira, Vijayawada, Gudur, Sri Kalahasti and Renigunta.
Special trains between Nanded and Surat

South Central Railway will run 14 special trains between Nanded and Surat during the Dusshera and Diwali festival season. Train no, 07609, the special train for festival season will begin from Nanded on 16th, 23rd October, 6th, 13th, 20th and 27th November for Surat. Train no. 07610 begins from Surat on 17th, 24th and 31st October and 7th, 14th and 21st October for Nanded.

Prepaid auto charges in Hyderabad to be revised soon
(http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Hyderabad/prepaid-auto-charges-in-hyderabad-to-be-revised-soon/article3998476.ece)
Following the recent revision of autorickshaw fare, traffic authorities are all set to hike prepaid auto charges soon.

Apart from revising the fare, authorities are also contemplating a revamp of the distance slabs beyond 15 km.

“Ever since the revision of meter charges, there is a demand to increase the prepaid auto rates. We are holding consultations with all stake holders to revise the fares,” Additional CP (Traffic) C.V. Anand said.

Also, the slab for distances beyond 15 km, which presently is set at an interval of five km, will also be brought down to three km.

He also stated that the prepaid autorickshaw initiative at the Secunderabad railway station has been successful.

The facility will also be soon extended to the Mahatma Gandhi Bus Station (MGBS), Jubilee Bus Station (JBS) along with Nampally and Kachiguda railway stations. “There is a popular demand for prepaid auto facility at more places and we are finalising plans to introduce them,” he said.

Passenger-friendly

“Commuters prefer prepaid autos as it removes the necessity to haggle with auto drivers after a long journey,” he pointed out while claiming that complaints about high fares of prepaid autos have been very few.

Safe for passengers

“It is also safer for passengers as the auto numbers are noted down at the counter itself while issuing the receipt,” he added.

Might help those who ply frequently in this route

These routes are currently under consideration. Once finalized, denizens are to adopt permanently.

https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/522244_428933330503078_570960412_n.jpg

https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/46501_428933400503071_1318493494_n.jpg

Thanks sri, what is the source?

Thanks sri, what is the source?

HTP official FB page
Link (https://www.facebook.com/HYDTP?ref=stream)

^^ Why does this arrangement have to be permanent? Agree that one-ways might be necessary during the construction phase of metro. Most of the traffic is because of APSRTC buses. Once the Metro is built there is no need to have unnecessary One-Ways like this.

Bus route numbers 1 and 3 will become redundant after the line-2 is built(with a good mini bus feeder network) taking a lot of load of the roads. The thing with one-ways is that once it has been converted there is no way that we can revert back. Some widening on the Esamia Bazar road will be helpful but i doubt if that can happen. Even junction improvement near Chaderghat will help.

Is the Koti CAC operational yet, last I heard there was some delay (link (http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-downtown/article3744000.ece)). I hope only after its opening the traffic restrictions are imposed

Is the Koti CAC operational yet, last I heard there was some delay (link (http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-downtown/article3744000.ece)). I hope only after its opening the traffic restrictions are imposed

I don't think so.. Last time I saw it was in August when I was passing through Koti. Converting these roads into one-way's will take sometime I guess as the internal road network won't be able to handle the chaos if it's implemented now.

I completely agree, the project to be successfully definitely needs supporting infrastructure. Our roads, pedestrian pavements, lane markings, decent traffic rules to avoid rash driving should also be taken into consideration. No point in installing HTRIMS without proper traffic management. Imagine HTRIMS in Hyderabad with drivers breaking signal on RED :nuts: (based on observed situation in the city)

Ambitious HTRIMS yet to take off
(http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Hyderabad/ambitious-htrims-yet-to-take-off/article4012516.ece)
The prestigious Hyderabad Traffic Integrated Management System (HTRIMS) launched amid much fanfare on August 18 has failed to take-off.

While the authorities were confident that HTRIMS will be installed in 50 junctions by September 30, to coincide with the Conference of Parties (CoP-11) on Biodiversity, till date not a single junction in the city has been upgraded with this system.

According to the agreement, signed between the city police, GHMC and Bharat Electronics (BEL), BEL has to install HTRIMS in about 90 junctions within 140 days, about four-and-a-half months, from the date of signing the agreement.

It also has to install HTRIMS in a total of 221 junctions in the city within a year.

“We were hopeful that HTRIMS could be installed in at least 30 junctions before CoP-11 event starts. But we have realised that the project is quite complicated. We have completed the survey of all junctions and gave our requirements to the BEL team, which is currently procuring the necessary equipment,” Additional CP (Traffic) C.V. Anand said.

For the project to be successful there is a need to develop supporting infrastructure such as pedestrian islands and proper markings, Mr. Anand said. “We are constantly coordinating with all the concerned departments and are holding review meetings regularly. Though we could not achieve the target of installing new signal system in 50 junctions before CoP-11, the project will be completed in time,” he said, adding that the Jubilee Hills Check Post Junction will be developed as a model HTRIMS junction within two weeks.

No takers for new route (http://postnoon.com/2012/10/19/no-takers-for-new-route/81488)

Net-savvy Hyderabad traffic police had not bargained for the volley of protests when it put to vote a proposal to make Koti road a one-way.

The Hyderabad traffic police had gone hi-tech for a while with aplomb. Ever since a page was created on the popular social networking website, Facebook on August 3, 2011, the traffic police have donned an active role in interacting with civilians. But the latest discussion to hit the webpage — the traffic police department’s proposal to initiate a one-way on Koti- DMHS-Chaderghat-Putlibowli-Koti road — has dealt a wallop across its face.

The traffic police provided options for the public to vote on its proposal. Option one was to allow a one-way road from SBI to Esmania Bazaar and then circle around the Sai Baba Temple and eventually back to the Osmania Medical College. Option two was to open a one-way from SBI on Bank Street and divert it at Koti Women’s College, take a left at Osmania Medical College and finish the circle by heading towards Esmania Bazaar.

Some commuters were furious. They raised an important question about this idea. What about bus numbers 127, 218 and 115 which ply on these roads with their bus stop at Osmania Medical College? they asked. What of the already encroached pavements by vendors and hawkers? Some have even gone to the extent of suggesting a mini ring road around this area to help ease out traffic flow. Here are a few opinions that have sprung up in the discussion.



P Sravan Kumar: “Neither options are required. Hyderabad traffic police should remove vendors and encroachers and then the roads will be wide enough for two-way traffic. Why do you want to punish motorists for your inability to free the roads from vendors and encroachers? Motorists pay tax for using the roads, and the HTP and GHMC keep quiet when they are occupied by non taxpaying illegal squatters. This is not fair.”

Jalasutram Anjaneyulu: “Make everything two way. Why one way at all? It needs some skill, expertise, authority and finally action to remove one ways in the city. Do you have the will?”

Asish Toomuluru:”Either options would work but none of them is a permanent solution. Ideal case would be to build a mini-ring road circling these busy areas. People who want to go to Nampally or Secunderabad are forced to go through Koti/Abids/MJ market or Badichowdi. With this mini-ring road traffic in these areas will become a thing of the past.”

When Postnoon contacted the traffic police, DCP MK Singh explained what went into the plan. “All old cities have one ways especially in Europe. That Chaderghat to Koti is, during peak hours, one of the most congested roads is known. At the same time, the road from Women’s College to DMHS and then Rangmahal to Putlibowli runs empty. An entire one km stretch runs empty. RTC buses being our only mass commuting service enjoy utmost priority. But it is difficult to listen to everybody’s opinion and please them,” he said.

But most say that the concept of a one-way is an outmoded system everywhere. It also adversely affects business along the road. Where is the sense in wasting fuel when police should ensure smooth traffic?

Additional commissioner C V Anand too defended the options posted on the website. “APSRTC regional manager Venkateshwar Rao participated in the meeting held on this issue 20 days back. There are 3,800 buses in the City making 12,000-14000 kms per day . More than 45 per cent carriageway is free when buses do not ply on the roads. Another one way route proposal was planned on the Ameerpet, Greenlands, VV Statue, KCP guest office and Panjagutta. But the number of bus stops located on this stretch and the thousands of passengers who commute there proved a disadvantage. For us, buses are the biggest criteria. Venkateshwar Rao was consulted while drafting this route and said there was no problem. Bus stops and parking places will be planned accordingly.”

Transporters cash in on festival rush for tickets (http://www.thehansindia.info/News/Article.asp?category=5&subCategory=1&ContentId=94491)

Private bus fares quadruple. Trains jam-packed

Due to mid-term break for educational institutions and the Dasara vacation, many people working in the State capital are set to leave for their hometowns. They are rushing to grab every available means of transport, as the demand for tickets is very high due to the shortfall in the availability of seats in buses and trains.

Private transport operators have started exploiting the situation by charging up to three to four times the regular fare. Even the state-owned RTC is not behind, considering city buses are being driven long distances. The RTC is said to be competing with private operators with regard to bus fares.

The Mahatma Gandhi Bus Station at Imliban and the Jubilee Bus Station at Secunderabad are crowded with hordes of potential travelers jostling for tickets. The main centres in the twin cities are seen with a large number of private buses heading towards various destinations.

The biggest transport organisation with the largest network in the country is also not in a position to cater to the increased demand for tickets. People are thronging railway stations for tickets, but the arrangements made by the railways are hardly sufficient.

Every day nearly 30-40 thousand commuters leave from the Secunderabad Station during the festive season. The South Central Railway makes elaborate arrangements to deal with overcrowding situation. But this time it appears the officials are just not bothered about the situation.

According to railway officials, more than 130 special trains have been scheduled for this festive season. In view of the rush, 2 to 4 extra bogies are being attached to each train. Still, the arrangements leave much to be desired. Only sleeper and A/C class coaches are attached additionally. But the requirement lies for general bogies.

They are much needed for the people, who cannot afford the unreasonable hike in bus fares. For them, the train is the cheapest mode of transport. But ironically, only 2 to 3 general bogies are available in each train. One of them is allotted to women. There is a huge demand for additional coaches. But official are not interested in them, as the general bogies do not yield profits.

As the reservation facility is already over, the demand for the general bogies is growing day by day. Almost 25 trains leaving daily to important destinations from Secunderabad are overcrowded. Usually 75 passengers are accommodated in each bogie. But in the present scenario, the number of people travelling in each bogie is bursting to 150 to 200.

Even in reserved compartments the situation is same. When the ticketless travelers are caught, they are fined. But the TTEs do not bother to make any arrangements after that. No one understands why the tickets are being issued without any limit, when the number of bogies is not augmented.

The passengers are scrambling to get into the train. The timings of so-called special trains are not made known to the public. So, the waiting rooms in the station are also packed.

The festive rush is expected to last for more than a week. Those who make it to their hometown after all the trouble to book tickets will of course enjoy the short vacation, notwithstanding bitter experiences en route.

Bus shelter woes for GHMC

The Hans India (http://postnoon.com/2012/10/20/bus-shelter-woes-for-ghmc/81657)
The mayor recently visited many places and found bus shelters allotted to ad agencies violating rules. The corporation on the other hand is considering terminating the BOT system.

Piling up of court cases is depriving the GHMC of revenue. Hoardings and bus shelter spaces are the main issues of contention.

Starved of funds, the corporation is toying with the idea of dispensing with the BOT (Build, Operate and Transfer) system in which the advertisement rights rest with the agency that has been allotted the space.

After his recent visit to the Tankbund, mayor Majid Hussain was appalled by the rampant flouting of norms by bus shelters. He had no idea about the extent of the problem till he saw what was happening. Even at the recently-held standing committee meeting, the mayor sought provisions of a ‘hoardings-free city’. What irked him was the loss of revenue from the lucrative business, owing to pending court cases.

Higher officials echoed the sentiment. “The bus shelters under the control of agencies are only in prime localities. But what about the places where thousands travel by buses?” wondered additional commissioner, advertisements and electrical, Jayaraj Kennedy. In the rural and semi-rural areas bus shelters are not built. Agencies are not interested in them as the advertisement will not fetch the required response.

After the ineffective experiment of BOT with agencies, the GHMC has to choose to go alone in constructing new bus shelters particularly in the areas where agencies will not find business viable.

About 76 bus shelters are expected to be constructed in the South Zone in the coming months. Tenders have already been given for 40 shelters and the remaining will be given over the next few days. Following several complaints of lack of bus-shelters, the mayor has asked officials to chalk out a strategy to make sure that these are available for Old City’s populace. “As an agency rarely ventures into the South Zone, we shall be taking up the task”, said the AC (advertisement and electrical)

Apart from this, the biggest U-turn can be seen in the construction of FOB (Foot Over Bridges). After construction of 12 FOBs in markets, the agencies are reluctant to take up new projects.

This prompted the GHMC to make all the effort in this direction. They have identified 19 places, the projects of which will be taken up the by the corporation itself.

It is believed by many observers that BOT will continue to exist and a City without hoardings is impossible. As one of the biggest sources of revenue for the GHMC is through hoardings, these structures will increase rather than decrease in number.

Heavy rush at Hyderabad bus, railway stations (http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Hyderabad/heavy-rush-at-hyderabad-bus-railway-stations/article4015834.ece)

Private, public transport operators report heavy bookings; RTC running over 3,500 specials

The Andhra Pradesh capital is currently witnessing a huge rush of commuters at bus and railway stations. Unlike last year, when the general strike for Telangana had forced many people to cancel travel programmes during the Dasara festival season, this year private and public transport operators are already reporting heavy bookings.

There is heavy demand for a ticket in buses or trains. For instance, the waiting list of a second class ticket for Machilipatnam Express between Hyderabad and Vijayawada was 151 on Friday and 180 on Saturday. Apart from regular trains, South Central Railway (SCR) is operating 132 specials and bookings for a majority of these trains are full for this week, an SCR spokesperson said. RTC is operating over 3,500 special buses to various districts from the city. Tickets for the 1,150 regular buses are already sold out, said Executive Director, RTC Greater Hyderabad zone, A. Koteswara Rao. “We are operating about 500 buses to different destination from MGBS on Friday. The passenger rush is likely to continue on Saturday, Sunday and Tuesday also,” he added.

With Dasara and Bakrid scheduled for next week, many people are heading to their home towns and the RTC is operating specials till October 26. Despite the recent fare hike in regular buses and an additional 50 p.c. extra charge for special buses, there is no indication of a slowdown in ticket sales. While the fare from Hyderabad to Vizag in a super luxury bus is Rs.600, those travelling in a special bus are paying Rs. 900 for the same distance.

In spite of charging additional fare for special buses, the RTC authorities claim that they do not earn profits.

“Extra fare is charged only to break even. We suffer 50 p.c. losses in regular buses since they record low occupancy ratio in the return direction,” an RTC official said. Private bus operators have also increased their fares, citing diesel price hike. “Operational costs have gone up and there is no option but to increase fares. The festive season helps us cover up for our losses suffered during the year,” says H.S.C Bose, honorary president of A.P. Private Bus Operators Association.

Multi-level car parking for High Court

RFP (http://www.ghmc.gov.in/tender%20pdfs/RFP%20for%20EOI_Multi%20Tier%20Car%20Parking.pdf)
Engaging the Services of Transaction Adviser for the proposed Multi Tier Car Parking Facility under DBFOT mode near A.P High Court Premises,at Afzalgunj, Hyderabad