Title - Finally, work begins on Kerala’s dream project

COCHIN - Countdown started on Friday for commencement of the metro rail service in Kerala’s port city of Cochin in the month of June 2016 with Chief Minister Oommen Chandy waving a green flag marking the launch of the metro’s civil works at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in the city. The clocks at the office of Kochi Metro Rail Project Limited (KMRL) here were set in reverse order after Chief Minister Oommen Chandy inaugurated the piling works for the first metro station at Edappally in the city.Keralites, who have seldom witnessed timely completion of any mega project in the state, have pinned their hopes on the metro since it is headed by E M Sreedharan, who hold the envious record of completing all major projects he has undertaken, including the Konkan Railway and the Delhi Metro, before the scheduled date.The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), which he headed, is building the 25km metro from Alwaye to Pettah. Several road and bridge projects entrusted with DMRC as part of the metro have been completed by the DMRC before the scheduled time.They included the Salim-Rajan road-over-bridge (RoB) near south railway station, which will reduce the traffic congestion at the heartlands of the city like Mahatma Gandhi road and Chittoor road, and the north over bridge at Kaloor.

Sreedharan, who has assumed the post of principal advisor to DMRC after his retirement from the post of Chairman last year, has promised to run the first metro train on June 1, 2006 if land and funds are provided in time.

Speaking after inaugurating the piling works on the metro station at Edappally, the chief minister said the government was ready to walk extra miles to ensure the completion of the state’s dream project ahead of the schedule. “Sreedharan has assured us that the first train would run on this track 1,095 days from today (Friday). And he has sought not a single day’s delay. We will lend full support to him,” the chief minister said. Chandy said the government was also considering a proposal to extend the metro from Pettah to Tripunithura in the first phase. “We have now asked for a feasibility study to be completed in six months’ time to see if the present project can be extended to other parts of the city,” he added.

Elias George, managing director, Kochi Metro Rail Corporation, said funds would not be a problem for the project. He said domestic and external sources of funding were being sought. Japan and France are potential funding partners.

He said the company would initially source funds from domestic sources, and then looks for external funding.

The 25km metro route will have 22 stations from Aluva to Petta. The capacity of the train will be 1000 passengers initially and the fare will be Rs12 to Rs30. Apart from providing the mass rapid transport, the Cochin Metro is expected to change the face of the port city. Senior KMRL officials say the widening of the city roads as part of the metro, the multi-mode transport systems proposed by KMRL at various stations, shopping malls will change the image of the fast growing city.