Hyderabad: It was yet another tough day for passengers on Friday morning when their trains terminated at the newly inaugurated Cherlapalli terminal, situated on the outskirts of Hyderabad and poorly connected to public transport networks.
Despite a strong public demand for MMTS trains, voiced even before the station’s inauguration, railway authorities paid no heed. Currently, only special trains operate from Cherlapalli, and once full-fledged services begin, more passengers will find themselves in even greater difficulty.
From the day trains began operating from the station, travellers needing to reach Secunderabad or Hyderabad have faced severe hardships, relying heavily on private app-based services, which often suffer lengthy booking delays.
TSRTC’s special buses provide some relief, yet the narrow approach roads prove problematic — two buses cannot pass in opposite directions. Moreover, the terminal lies in an industrial development area where parked or passing oil tankers pose further risks. Frustrated passengers insist that railway authorities introduce MMTS services to align with the train schedules.
Several elderly people, along with women and children, were spotted waiting outside the station for transport back home.
N. Ramana, a resident of Huppuguda who arrived via the Tirupati-Charlapalli special, lamented, “Our train, scheduled for 6 am, arrived almost three hours late. On top of that, there’s no decent public transport available. We tried app-based cabs, but drivers keep cancelling.”
Ashok, a private employee on the same train, added, “We planned to reach at 6 am and head to work, but the train is around three hours late. The station is far from the city with no proper commute, so now we must take leave. It’s frustrating — why can’t they provide MMTS? Our cab is costing us Rs 460.”
Sandhya Rani, another passenger, remarked, “When they made this station a terminal, they should have introduced MMTS connectivity to city stations. In Mumbai, local trains are readily available once you step off at any suburban station. Why can’t SCR offer similar facilities?”
