KOCHI: Immediately after the Kochi Metro Rail was inaugurated on June 17, there was a clamour for the extension of the Metro Rail till Nedumbassery, a 13-km stretch from Aluva. But it seems the extension, conceived as Kochi Metro’s third phase after completing the Kakkanad extension, may not fructify with the Cochin International Airport Ltd (CIAL) distancing itself from the project saying it will be an unviable proposition.
A senior executive of CIAL told Express 70 per cent of travellers at the airport are either proceeding to or coming from Thrissur, Kothamangalam and Kottayam regions.“Hence, it will be infeasible to spend heavily on the extension of Kochi Metro Rail up to Nedumbassery for 30 per cent of the air passengers and the persons accompanying them,” he said.
Further, there is also a restriction on carrying big luggage on the Metro Rail, which means even a large number of the 30 per cent passengers proceeding to or coming from Kochi are restricted. “A large number of passengers proceeding towards Kochi city comprises foreign tourists going towards the Fort Kochi area. They invariably carry big luggage with them. But Kochi Metro prohibits big luggage. It will be more profitable for CIAL to deploy a shuttle service of buses between Aluva and the airport,” said the officer.
Ruling out any sharing of costs should Kochi Metro extend the rail network to the Nedumbassery airport, the officer, however, added the CIAL has provided a three-metre median in the centre of the roads leading to the airport to accommodate the pillars of the metro. That is if KMRL wants to build the rail network on its own. A formal memorandum to extend the metro service to the airport was also pending before the government.
The officer also said a growing metropolis like Kochi desperately requires a suburban train network parallel to the existing rail tracks from neigbouring districts to address the travel woes of the people. Introducing suburban rail services to the city will be more helpful for the people than metro services, he said.
The CIAL officials also hinted providing a permanent ‘airport’ railway station at Nedumbaserry will be helpful as there are a lot of passengers still resorting to train services to get to the airport. A proposal to set up a railway station near CIAL was mooted seven years ago.
The Union Railway Ministry had accepted the proposal and earmarked a sum of Rs 93 lakh in the then rail budget for setting up the station. As a result, then Union Minister of State for Railways E Ahamed had even laid a foundation stone for the project in December 2010. However, the project hit a roadblock due to various reasons, including local protests over closing a railway gate near the airport.
If the project were to be implemented in a time-bound manner, this would have been a big blessing for the air passengers from the northern Kerala districts, who still rely on private buses and vehicles to reach CIAL to board wide-bodied flights, especially during the time of Haj pilgrimage. The CIAL is even ready to offer land for the railway station project. Besides, they are ready to provide vehicle facility connecting the station as the project is expected to boost the plans of CIAL to develop a cargo hub by incorporating a multi-modal transport system.
70 per cent of travellers at the airport are either proceeding to or coming from Thrissur, Kothamangalam and Kottayam regions.
Restriction on carrying big luggage on the Metro Rail, which means even a large number of the 30 per cent passengers proceeding to or coming from Kochi are restricted
CIAL has ruled any sharing of costs to extend the rail network to the Nedumbassery airport
A formal memorandum to extend the metro service to the airport was also pending before the government.
A proposal to set up a railway station near CIAL was mooted seven years ago.
The Union Railway Ministry had accepted the proposal and earmarked a sum of Rs 93 lakh in the then rail budget for setting up the station.
So close yet so far
CIAL provided a 3-metre median on the centre of the road to accommodate the pillars of the metro while building its road to the airport from NH, if KMRL wants to build the rail network on its own
11 km The approximate distance between Cochin Airport and Aluva Metro Station is 11 km
According to KMRL, from the National Highway, the Metro line should be extended to a length of seven km for the service to reach the airport
However, if the metro is built connecting the airport with the city, it would be beneficial for domestic passengers and tourists
CIAL handled an average 39.42 lakh domestic and close to 50 lakh international pax in last fiscal