Waiting at the gates: Gautamnagar’s long struggle for a rail underpass

Malkajgiri is a bustling suburb of the twin cities, known for the numerous railway lines criss-crossing its residential colonies. This has necessitated the construction of several Road Under Bridges (RUBs) and Road Over Bridges (ROBs) to facilitate seamless traffic movement.

However, some crossings still remain unbridged, including the one at Gautamnagar. The situation has worsened due to growing rail traffic on this route. MMTS suburban services, long-distance passenger trains, and lengthy freight trains frequently utilize this path to bypass the congested Secunderabad Railway Station, often moving at slow speeds through city limits.”

This is causing significant inconvenience to local residents and commuters as frequent gate closures lead to massive traffic snarls on either side of the level crossing (LC). “This level crossing frequently remains closed for 15 to 45 minutes, and sometimes for up to an hour during peak hours, due to consecutive train movements. Either they should expedite the proposed RUB or close this forever,” says Sudhakar Kanakamedala, a local. 

Though there are RUBs at Safilguda, Anandbagh and Lalaguda, they are few kilometres away forcing commuters to take a circuitous route, hence the rush to cross this particular LC. This is resulting in vehicles spilling into narrow residential lanes, causing severe delays for students, office-goers and even emergency services such as ambulances, residents point out.

The LC lies between Malkajgiri and Dayanandnagar stations and with more trains being provided at the latter, the closures have only risen in the last few years. “The gates remain shut till the train takes the curve near Dayanandnagar station,” claims Hari, another local person.

There is a case for building at least a Limited Height Subway (LHS), attests Zonal Railway Users’ Consultative Committee (ZRUCC) member Noor Ahmed Ali. “I had proposed the work many years ago and it has remained pending for various reasons including land acquisition which has faced opposition. The local public representatives too are seized of the issue and we are hopeful the work will be expedited.”

South Central Railway (SCR) officials say that Malkajgiri itself is uniquely positioned between three main railway lines from Secunderabad station – one towards Nizamabad, other towards Kazipet and there is another Ammuguda line.

“This criss-cross of railway lines amid densely populated colonies has been leading to traffic issues. But, wherever feasible we have been trying to build RUB/ROBs with the assistance of the local municipal authorities over the years,” says senior officials.

Yet, clearly, the lack of coordination between the municipal and railway authorities is apparent, considering the delay in sanctioned projects too. An RTI reply obtained by citizen activist Robin Zaccheus disclosed that only 51% of the 211 ROB/RUB projects across Telangana have been completed to close the associated level crossings. Remaining projects have been delayed due to issues related to land acquisition, funding, design finalisation and inter-departmental coordination.

These works include 82 ROBs and 129 RUBs at locations such as Safilguda, Ghatkesar-Bibinagar, Ammuguda-Moula Ali and Neredmet-Moula Ali, among others. Around 38 works are under construction, tenders have been finalised for 18 projects, 32 are facing land acquisition hurdles and 15 are delayed for other reasons.

“Allowing level crossings to continue operating in densely populated areas poses a risk to commuters, including schoolchildren. A lot of fuel is also wasted as motorists wait for the gates to reopen. Funding has also emerged as a major hurdle after the Telangana government withdrew its cost-sharing consent in May 2024, leaving the Railways to bear the entire cost of such projects. This has resulted in revised timelines and further delays,” he says.

Even within the railways, there is no single authority overseeing these projects, Mr. Zaccheus points out, and calls for an empowered joint task force to monitor such works, ensure time-bound execution and adopt standardised designs.

However, there is good news for Gautamnagar residents. Work on the proposed RUB work is likely to begin soon. “We have received design approval from the municipal authorities. Tendering process is currently on for taking up the ₹34 crore worth works, including ₹10 crore to the municipal authorities for shift of utilities. Efforts are on to complete other pending works soon,” said SCR Chief Public Relations Officer A. Sridhar.