Hyderabad Metro Rail yet to find parking spaces

Hyderabad: Motorists will have a tough time finding parking near Metro stations since other than Nagole, the other six stations still haven’t identified land for parking space. The Nagole-Mettuguda stretch will be operational from March 2015, but the parking spaces at the stations still haven’t been designated.

The staircases of the stations are on the roads adjoining housing colonies, government educational institutions and Central government offices. If commuters park in the lanes and by-lanes next to these colonies or offices, they will get choked. Hyderabad Metro Rail managing director N.V.S. Reddy said, “We are working on it. We have to get some government and private land around the stations. We are also working on the concept of feeder services. The government is aware of this aspect and details are being worked out.”  Providing parking at the stations is not the prerogative of Larsen & Toubro, which has designed the stations.

A senior officer said, “It is for the government to provide.”  With the stations being “world class”, the highly congested residential areas will require good parking bays close to the stations. To ensure that the stations are accessible and the Metro Rail is a success, the feeder services as well as parking facilities will matter the most. L&T has divided the Metro stations into three levels. The first or the street level has the staircase and escalator, which start from the road. The stairs and escalators are on either side of the road.  The second level is the concourse or the non-paid level that will have retail stores and the ticket counter. A source said, “The concourse level can also be used as a foot-over-bridge to cross from one side to the other. There will be heavy movement of people and it has the capacity of accommodating 2,000 people at a time.”  

The third level of the station is where the Metro operates. It is also called the paid level where only passengers with valid tickets or smart cards will be allowed entry.