GHMC’s ₹345 crore flyover plan revives push for rail link to airport

The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation’s (GHMC) proposal to construct a new ₹345 crore, six-lane flyover across the Mailardevpally, Shamshabad and Katedan junctions running almost parallel to the proposed metro rail link to the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) has revived citizens demand for a rail link to the airport.

The bi-directional flyover, planned under the Hyderabad City Innovation and Transformative Infrastructure (HCITI) initiative, aims to ensure free vehicle movement, benefiting not only airport-bound passengers but also those using the national highway and seeking to bypass the junctions congestion.

While welcoming the project, citizens are urging the government to also consider a complementary approach: partnering with the South Central Railway (SCR) to complete the final six-kilometre stretch from Umdanagar railway station to the airport terminal to offer “cost-effective, faster and environmentally friendly public transport alternative”.

“At present, passengers are forced to depend on airport buses or private vehicles, which increases travel and parking expenses. A passenger-friendly transport system that can be executed at minimum cost should be prioritised,” said a former railway official and long-time advocate of suburban train MMTS services, Noor Ahmed Ali.

He urged the Revanth Reddy government to persuade RGIA authorities to grant ‘right of way’ for an on-ground railway track up to the terminal, along with land for a station and access to the main foyer similar to the metro rail connectivity being planned.

According to him, the project could be completed within months at a modest cost, shared with the railways, while ticket prices would remain low as per MMTS fares. “Passengers can reach the airport faster than by road,” he noted.

Mr. Ali, also a member of the Zonal Railway Users Consultative Committee, argued that while flyovers lose their utility over time as traffic grows, rail-based systems like MMTS or Metro Rail remain sustainable, high-capacity and cost-efficient. He pointed out that earlier as Malkajgiri Member of Parliament, Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy supported such a proposal, making the present moment ideal for a decisive push.

He further observed that a move toward an MMTS-RGIA link could also compel SCR to revisit its current approach of operating only skeletal MMTS services (about 80 services) with irregular timings and gaps in frequency.

SCR has long maintained that “technical and infrastructure bottlenecks” limit service expansion, even though MMTS Phase One (90 km, ₹160 crore project) was completed with 50:50 cost sharing with the State Government and Phase-II, costing ₹1,169 crore, was launched by Prime Minister Modi two years ago, with about ₹400 crore pending from the State government.