The Amaravati Metro Rail Corporation (AMRC), a special purpose vehicle (SPV) for executing Metro rail projects in Amaravati and Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh, has prepared a Metro rail master plan.

A 140 km long Metro network is proposed to be executed in three phases over a period of 10 years in Visakhapatnam city. According to the plan, the highway corridor will be extended upto the Vizag Steel Plant in Phase-I of the project, instead of ending at Gajuwaka. This will increase the length of the highway corridor from 30.8 km to 34.2 km.

AMRC had started the bidding process for the 43 km long Metro rail project in September 2017 and according to conditions of the bidding process, the Metro authority has the right to increase or decrease the length of the project by 15 percent.

However, the total length of the other two corridors -- Old Post Office Junction to Gurudwara Junction (5.29 km) and Thatchipalem to China Waltair (6.91 km) -- will remain as per the original plan. Phase-II of the project will cover a distance of 77.31 km and Phase-III will cover 16.4 km, starting from Rushikonda to Bheemili.

The tendering process for the Visakhapatnam Metro Rail Project will begin in the next few weeks. The government is keen on launching the project as early as possible. In Phase-II and Phase-III, AMRC has also made provisions to operate trackless Metro trains on the beachfront to increase aesthetics of the beach stretch.

The trackless Metro train runs with the help of magnetic strips and sensors. The 140 km long Metro rail project will be taken up in a mixed-model system with some having elevated corridors and some with other models.