The Telangana state cabinet has approved the expansion plans for the Hyderabad Metro Rail (HMRL) at a total estimated cost of Rs 69,100 crore. The expansion plan will take the coverage to over 400 km, with a horizon of three to five years for completion.

The Phase-III expansion comprises three parts, wherein part-A will have six corridors. One of these would connect BHEL to Patancheruvu and Isnapur (13 km; Rs 3,250 crore), another would link LB Nagar to Hayathnagar and Peddamberpet (13 km; Rs 4,500 crore), and another corridor would enable connecting Shamshabad Junction metro station with Kothur and Shadnagar (28 km; Rs 6,800 crore).

In Part-B, a Metro corridor will cover the entire 158 km stretch of the Outer Ring Road. Similarly, under Part-C, a corridor is planned from Jubilee Bus Station to Tumkunta (18.5 km), and another from Paradise Junction to Kandlakoya via Kompally (18.5 km). The two corridors are proposed as two levels or a double-decker flyover and one of the levels will be exclusively for metro rail.

As per the proposal, an additional 309 km of Metro rail services will be added to the 72-km Phase-I Metro and 31-km Airport Express Metro in the next three to five years. The preliminary work for this has already begun.

The construction of a five-km stretch to the Old City, a part of Phase-I is yet to begin. .