Keeping the convenience of thousands of people who will attend matches of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in April and May at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Uppal, the Hyderabad Metro Rail Limited (HMRL) has decided to extend its timings on days when the game is played.
As of now, the trains run till 10 pm, but the timing will be extended to 12:30 am on IPL match days in April and May.
"HMR extends train services till 12:30 am for IPL matches. You may buy IPL tickets or collect your tickets booked online at http://www.eventsnow.com from Miyapur, Moosapet, Ameerpet, Habsiguda, Nagole and Moosarambagh Metro Stations and Hyderabad Next Malls at Punjagutta and Hitech city," the L&T Hyderabad Metro Rail tweeted, along with a schedule of the game.
HMR extends train services till 12:30 am for IPL Matches. You may buy IPL tickets or collect your tickets booked online at https://t.co/YPdtjSllHP from Miyapur, Moosapet, Ameerpet, Habsiguda, Nagole & Musarambagh Metro Stations & Hyderabad Next Malls at Punjagutta & Hitech city. pic.twitter.com/hYOAcHp29S
— L&T HydMetroRail (@ltmhyd) March 29, 2018
The international cricket stadium has a Metro Rail station right outside its premises, with another close Metro station being situated near the National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI).
The HMRL will also consider increasing the frequency of trains, to keep up with the higher number of passengers expected to utilise the service.
“L&T experimented extending the timings for a recent cricket match at Uppal stadium. Now, they have come out with a special arrangement for IPL. We have submitted all data and certificates to the commissioner of rail safety. During match days, we want to increase the frequency to one train every 8 minutes so that cricket fans can reach the stadium in time,” HMRL managing director NVS Reddy was quoted as saying.
Earlier this month, it was announced that over 80 lakh passengers travelled in the Hyderabad Metro Rail in the first 100 days after it was launched,
Officials said that over 10.2 lakh km of operations had been completed and 36,186 train trips were taken till February-end.
The HMRL also said that strict punctuality was maintained, and several thousand people were availing the services on a daily basis.
Over one lakh people took the Hyderabad Metro Rail (HMR) on November 29 last year alone, after the project began commercial operations.
The 30 km-long first phase from Nagole to Miyapur was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 28 and has 24 stations, which covers a large part of the city.