KOCHI: The inauguration of the new stretch of Kochi Metro Rail between Maharaja’s College and Thykoodam will be held on Tuesday. The services along the stretch will be commenced from Wednesday onwards. The new stretch has a total of five new stations- Ernakulam South, Kadavanthra, Elamkulam, Vyttila and Thykoodam. At present, the services are being conducted up to Maharaja’s College Ground. The fare to travel from Aluva to Thykoodam is Rs 60.
The inauguration ceremony will be held at a function at Regional Sports Centre, Kadavanthra. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will inaugurate the meeting which will be presided over by Minister of State for Civil Aviation, Hardeep Singh Puri.
Along with the commissioning of the new stretch, the stone laying ceremony of Petta to S N Junction and the ground-breaking ceremony of the first terminal of Water Metro will also be held during the event. As part of the service extension, 47 additional personnel were recruited for security management and the total number will be increased to 233 from 186. There will be additional 90 Kochi Metro Special Police team, said Kochi Metro Rail Ltd (KMRL) authorities.
Meanwhile, the services of the Kudumbashree contract will be expanded to the new stretch. KMRL managing director A P M Mohammed Hanish and Kudumbashree executive director Hari Kishore signed an agreement to extend the services of Kudumbashree to the new section on Monday. However, there will be no change in the number of its staff. At present, KMRL has 615 Kudumbashree workers.