| Kochi Metro കൊച്ചി മെട്രോ |
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| Info | |
| Locale | Kochi, Kerala |
| Transit type | Rapid Transit |
| Number of lines | 1 (Phase I) |
| Number of stations | 26 (Phase I) |
| Headquarters | 8th Floor, Revenue Tower, Opp Subhash Park, Kochi |
| Website | http://www.kochimetro.org/ |
| Operation | |
| Operator(s) | Kochi Metro Rail Ltd. (KMRL) |
| Technical | |
The Kochi Metro is an under construction rapid transit system for the city of Kochi, India. It is being set up at an estimated cost of 5,146 crore (US$977.74 million), and is expected to be completed in 2016.
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Delhi Metro Rail Corporation was signed up for drawing the DPR (detailed project report) of the Kochi Metro on 22 December 2004. It was expected to be started by 2006 and completed by 2010. But it was delayed because the union government expressed serious doubts about the economic viability of the project.[1] The Kerala government had sought Central Government's assistance for the project to be built in the lines of the Delhi metro project in terms of funding. The Centre refused this request.[2] The Union Government was in favour of implementing the project with private participation, ruling out its own financial involvement. The Ministry of Urban Development and the Planning Commission were also against government investment in the project, and refused to accept it as a project in line with the Delhi and Chennai metros. The political rivalry between the Left Front government in Kerala and the UPA government at the Centre was a major reason for such developments and the slow down in the project. The change in government in Kerala changed that scenario, making the Kochi Metro one of the top priorities of the UDF government.
The Kerala cabinet under the Chief Ministership of Oommen Chandy gave clearance for the Kochi Metro project, replacing the Konkan Railway Corporation backed Skybus project.[3] Kochi Metro will follow the Chennai Metro and Delhi Metro models. The alignment was created by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation and will be made on a Public-Private Partnership basis, with investments by the Central and State Governments, and the nodal agency being KINFRA. On completion, the Kochi Metro Rail Ltd. (KMRL) will operate the metro.
The cost of the project was revised to 5,146 crore (US$977.74 million) crore from 1,186 crore (US$225.34 million) in 2005. The State Government demanded that the project be implemented in line with the Chennai and Delhi metro models. Both the projects were Centre-State joint ventures without private participation. Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) is the consultant and the executing agency for Kochi Metro. The Planning Commission reversed its position on Union government's investment in the project and gave an in-principle nod.
The land for the project was proposed to be handed over to the DMRC on 10 June 2011 and all the detailed study for the possible traffic congestion especially in North Ernakulam when the work will commence was also said to be completed by the city traffic commissioner .[4] The ministry of urban development has approved the revised proposal for Kochi Metro
The land requirement for the implementation of the project comes to an extent of 31.9216 hectares. It comprises of 9.3787 hectares of government land and 22.5413 hectares of private land, in which 70.62 per cent private land is to be acquired.[5]
In Dec 2011 Kerala Minister for Public Works VK Ebrahim Kunju indicated that work of Kochi metro can only be awarded by a global tender even though initial ground work of the project was started by DMRC. DMRC MD,E. Sreedharan said on a day before his retirement from DMRC that he was not interested in associating with the Kochi Metro Rail project if DMRC was not involved in the implementation of the project. The DMRC chief had expressed concern over Kochi Metro Rail Ltd's inability to complete the project in the specified time-frame as the latter lacked experience and expertise in implementing metro projects. [6] However Kochi metro rail MD Mr. Tom Jose suggested in Indiavision channel that help of DMRC is not mandatory for the project.
Sreedharan who is well know for his integrity & timely completion of his projects had earlier walked out of Hyderabad metro project. When he had suggested that a “big political scandal” was brewing in the Hyderabad Metro project in September 2008, the Andhra Pradesh Congress government threatened him with defamation.
But, with Satyam chairman Ramalinga Raju confessing to defrauding his own company of over Rs 7,000 crore and accepting the charge that the aborted buyout of Maytas was also part of this fraud, Sreedharan’s apprehensions appear to be justified.
The Kochi Metro connecting Aluva-Petta will be completed in three stages and separate tenders will be awarded through bids. Each stage will be approximately 8 km. The advantage of this approach is that different contractors can take part in the work. It has decided to set up parking space at all metro stations. This includes the Madhav Pharmacy and Maharajas College stations, a change from the original plan.[8]
The Ernakulam north overbridge is being pulled down as part of five Metro Rail-associated projects. [9] Other projects include construction of a new ROB connecting Mullassery Canal Road and Salim Rajan Road and the widening of the road from Jos Junction to Ernakulam Junction Railway Station, renovation of MG Road and widening of Banerjee Road.[10]
The total cost of the Kochi Metro project is 5,146 crore (US$977.74 million) from 1,186 crore (US$225.34 million) in 2005.[11] About 53% of the cost of the project will be obtained from Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC).[12]
Kochi Metro is proposed to use maglev trains from South Korea.[13]
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The Kochi Metro Rail Corporation has proposed an elevated[14] route spanning 25.253 km from Thripunithura to Aluva.[15] There will be 23 stations:
There is a proposal for the metro rail project to be extended from Aluva to the Cochin International Airport at Nedumbassery, a distance of about 8 km.[16]
The DMRC also has plans to extend the Kochi metro rail up to Kakkanad from Palarivattom.[17]
The Tripunithura Rajanagari Union of Residents' Associations (TRURA), in a memorandum to Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, has requested an extension of the proposed metro line, which terminates at Petta, to Thrippunithura.[18]
Thrippunithura town's proximity to the upcoming Smart City, the Civil Station at Kakkanad, the pilgrimage centre of Chottanikkara, and several industries is a reason for it to be the terminal point of the metro rail. The town is also an entry point to Idukki and Kottayam districts. TRURA says that Petta, which has been decided as a terminal of Kochi Metro in the first phase, does not have the space to accommodate the required facilities such as a metro station-cum-commercial complex, parking area for commuters and loco service station. As Petta is a thickly populated area, large scale eviction would be needed to set up a metro terminal. TRURA believes that if the metro rail is extended 2km eastwards to Thrippunithura, near the yard of the Steel Authority of India (SAIL), which is also located near the Thrippunithura Railway Station, the space and other requirements could be met easily with the ten acres of unused land available with SAIL. Close proximity to the railway station, the proposed municipal bus terminal and easy access to Seaport-Airport Road would be an added advantage for the extension of metro rail upto Thrippunithura, V.P. Prasad, chairman, TRURA, and V.C. Jayendran, convener, said in a press release.
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