Updates and Information on upcoming events from the alumni association.
MORE >>
Kochi Metro Rail Project: Vision for Urbanising India
The city of Kochi, one of the fastest emerging Tier-II cities in the country, presents unique developmental planning challenges for urban infrastructure planners due to the limited space for physical development and the unique demographic distribution of Kerala. Kochi is a popular attraction on the global tourism map with its scenic backwaters serving as the gateway to the “God’s Own Country.” Kochi is famous for its natural leisure locations, with the beautiful Western Ghats and gorgeous beaches providing dream backdrops, and its Ayurvedic health centres that offer solace to people suffering from ailments resistant to any other system of medicine. At the same time, Kochi is home to the Cochin Port, the Container Transhipment Terminal, the Cochin Shipyard and the Southern Naval Command. Upcoming state-of-the-art projects such as the Liquefied Natural Gas Terminal of Petronet at Kochi and the “Smart City project” will become engines of growth for fast urbanising India.
Notwithstanding the fact that most of the metro systems worldwide face financial viability challenges emanating from insufficient fare box collections (few metro systems, such as the Hong Kong Transit System, can boast of smart integration of land and building rights with metro corridors), city governments the world over are launching new metro projects to leverage their incidental benefits, or “positive externalities” — enhancing the city’s brand equity, promoting economic enterprise facilitated by an efficient, affordable and safe urban mobility solution, and seamless integration of surging immigrants.
Realising that the key to successful implementation of the vision of transforming Kochi into an internationally competitive modern urban city is the development of a modern, sustainable, economical and safe urban transport system, the government of Kerala launched the Kochi Metro Rail Project in 2004. It commissioned a study to facilitate a detailed project report, launched preliminary works, and planned transport diversion strategies for the works to go ahead smoothly. The Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL), a Special Purpose Vehicle jointly owned by the Government of India and the Government of Kerala, was incorporated on August 2, 2011 to plan and execute the most challenging assignment in the state of Kerala. The government of India approved the Kochi Metro Rail Project in July 2012 at a completion cost of INR 5181.8 crores, of which the central government will bear INR 1,002.23 crores and the Kerala government’s share will be INR 1,772.23 crores. The project will rely upon external loans of INR 2,170 crores from domestic as well as international agencies, and state taxes will contribute INR 237.33 crores. The project is scheduled for completion in 2016.
The first phase of the Kochi Metro, stretching from Aluva in the north to Petta in the south, spans a total length of more than 25 km with 22 stations. The entire project is fully elevated and occupies a width of only about 2.5 metres along the median of existing roads. The project envisages the incorporation of the latest technologies for trains, signalling and telecommunication systems, an automatic fare collection system, etc. KMRL is committed to the construction of a sustainable metro system and is accordingly planning to seek “Platinum” certification under LEED NC 2011: Green Building Rating System for New Construction for its 22 stations.
A unique feature of the Kochi Metro Rail Project is the mandate to integrate all public transportation modes — waterway traffic, taxis and autorickshaws, and private and Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) buses under one centralised management system, thereby harmonising routes and timings for the convenience of commuters. A single ticketing system will eventually be introduced for all public transport systems, as is the case in many Western countries.
The successful implementation of the Kochi Metro Rail Project is expected to herald a new wave of urbanisation in the Tier-II cities of India, supported by metro corridors acting as the spine for development activities that will ensure equitable access to economic growth opportunities for all sections of society.
Ved Mani Tiwari
Director, Kochi Metro