PM to launch `11,355 cr worth projects in TS

Hyderabad: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be visiting Hyderabad on April 8 to dedicate to the nation and lay foundation stone for several development projects worth Rs 11,355 crore in Telangana besides flagging off a Vande Bharat Express train between Secunderabad and Tirupati.

At Secunderabad Railway station, the Prime Minister will flag off the train service between Secunderabad in Telangana and Tirupati in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh. This is the 13th Vande Bharat train to be introduced in the country, a release from Union Tourism and Culture Minister G Kishan Reddy’s office said on Sunday.

The travel time between Secunderabad and Tirupati, currently around 12 hours, is expected to decrease to 8.5 hours, it said. The yet-to-be inaugurated service would be the second Vande Bharat train to be operated between the two Telugu-speaking States.

On January 15, Modi had virtually flagged off the Vande Bharat train service between Secunderabad and the port city of Visakhapatnam in AP, which was the first one (Vande Bharat Express) connecting the two States. The Prime Minister will also perform bhumi puja for the various development works to be undertaken towards the redevelopment and modernisation of Secunderabad Railway Station at a cost of Rs 715 crore, which include facilities to cater to the needs of passengers for another 40 years.

Other works include modernising the station to international standards by increasing the station building area to 61,912 square metres from the current area of 11,427 sqm. The station will also have an exclusive 108-metre double-level air concourse connecting terminal building and all platforms.

Modi will also dedicate to the nation 85 kilometres of doubling works that was completed on the Secunderabad-Mahabubnagar Railway Line at a cost of Rs 1,410 crore. Later, the Prime Minister will inaugurate 13 new MMTS services.