First passenger train to be flagged off from Medak on September 23

Union Minister of State for Railways Rao Saheb Patil, Tourism Minister G Kishan Reddy and State Health Minister T Harish Rao will flag off the first train at Medak Railway Station on Friday at 4 pm.

Medak: The dream of getting a passenger train to Medak district is all to become a reality as the South Central Railway (SCR) has made all arrangements to operate a passenger train from Medak on Friday evening.

Union Minister of State for Railways Rao Saheb Patil, Tourism Minister G Kishan Reddy and State Health Minister T Harish Rao will flag off the first train at Medak Railway Station on Friday at 4 pm.

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Having a training facility in Medak is a long cherished dream of the citizens here. Though it was proposed in the year 2012-13 by laying a 17.20 KM railway line from Akkannapet to Medak, the project was delayed due to various issues. It was proposed to take up with an outlay of Rs 117.72 crores 10 years ago, but the cost of the project went up at least by two and half times.

Finance Minister T Harish Rao said that when the Centre could not ground the project, Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao had offered to bear one-third of the project cost besides assuring to bear the losses if any for the first 10 years of train operations from Medak.

Since the Nizamabad-Secunderabad train was passing through Medak district some 17 KM away from Medak town, people from Medak could not utilise the services much. That is when the SCR decided to connect Medak by laying the 17.2-KM long railway line from Akkannapet.

The stretch will have two stations at Lakshampur and Shamanpur apart from the Medak Railway Station. Goods trains were being operated from Medak since August 2 this year.

A rake point has been built near Medak station to receive fertilisers and other goods from different parts of the country. After conducting multiple trial runs, Railway authorities were preparing to operate two trains – one each in the morning and evening – from Friday onwards.

Speaking to Telangana Today, Medak MP Kotha Prabhakar Reddy thanked Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao for granting the necessary funds to ensure the railway line was completed. The MP said Revenue officials had also acquired the land for the railway line on a war footing.

Medak MLA M Padmadevendar Reddy said it was going to be a dream come true for the citizens of Medak.

Meanwhile, ahead of the launch of the train services, Medak Station was colourfully decorated and illuminated on Thursday.