‘Metro Man’ E Sreedharan said that Andhra Pradesh’s government plan to drift towards light rail technology is irrational and advised the government to adhere to the already approved Vijayawada Metro Rail Project. He said that the light rail technology not only takes a long time but also doesn’t suffice fast growing cities like Vijayawada.
Light rail technology’s capability and transport capacity is 50% less than normal metro and the difference in cost of construction is insignificant. Considering the fact the Vijayawada will be a big city in next hundred years, Sreedharan suggested going ahead with simple Metro project on similar lines with Delhi Metro.
Speaking to a leading daily in Telugu, Metro Man said that Hyderabad Metro Rail will not be profitable. He said that once the operation of metro rail commences, Larsen & Turbo company has to face huge losses and simultaneously has to pay the banks that have lent the money. So, it is apprehensive on starting Metro Operations in the state. He said that Hyderabad Metro is an example of the PPP model being unsuccessful. It’s been seven years since the project began, yet L&T is not coming forward to run even first phase of metro fearing huge losses. If the company does not start operations in the future, Sreedharan said that the government will have to bear that burden.
He said that private parties do not take up this because Metro as it is not a profitable business. Private firms expect 12-15% profit while metro project doesn’t fetch more than 1.5-2% profits.
