KOCHI: To ensure smooth and frequent services after the completion of its Pink Line, Kochi Metro will require eight additional trains, taking the total fleet requirement to 33 trains, Kochi Metro Rail Ltd (KMRL) MD Loknath Behera told the TNIE. However, the proposal to procure additional trains remains on hold amid fund constraints.
Kochi Metro currently has 25 trains, all of which were procured for Phase I. Of these, 18 trains are in operation at a time, while the remaining seven are rotated into service when trains are taken out for scheduled maintenance. With the completion of the Phase II line, 10.58-km of which is being constructed as an elevated corridor from JLN Stadium to Infopark in Kakkanad with 10 new stations, the existing fleet will be insufficient to maintain the desired service frequency while allowing adequate trains to undergo maintenance.
“Optimum utilisation of the resources of Phase I and Phase II will require eight more trains. With 33 trains, KMRL expects to maintain a 7-10 minute headway. Without the additional trains, the interval between services could increase substantially around 20 minutes for Phase II operations,” Behera said.
The additional requirement had been identified during the previous government itself, when KMRL had proposed procuring the trains. The state had then asked the agency to seek assistance from the Centre.
Funding, however, remains a key hurdle. Behera said the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is willing to provide funding, but both the Union and state governments have to agree. In the absence of central assistance, the state will have to bear the entire estimated cost of `275 crore.
“Funding is a complex issue. KMRL could seek a share of the cost from the Centre as Kochi Metro is a 50:50 project. As of now, the state has to bear the entire cost of `275 crore, but we can have talks with the Centre. The Centre has previously supported states including Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh in purchasing metro trains,” Behera said.
The timing of the procurement is also critical as the trains will take around two years to arrive after an order is placed. If an order is placed now, the trains could be available only by around 2028, roughly a year after Phase II is expected to begin operations.
“The time of Phase I cannot be changed for that,” the KMRL MD said, stressing that the existing service schedule cannot simply be altered to accommodate the shortage of trains.
KMRL plans to complete the entire stretch up to Infopark by June 2027. The viaduct work is targeted for completion by March 2027, while the stations and traction systems are scheduled to be completed by June to enable operations. The Phase II project is backed by a `1,016-crore loan from AIIB, with structural work progressing at an accelerated pace. The trains are purchased from Alstom Transport India from its manufacturing unit in Sri City, Andhra Pradesh.