Monday, Jul 14, 2003
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Kerala
By K. S. Sudhi
Referring to the metro railway projects that are being implemented in New Delhi, Bangalore, Hydrabad, Ahamadabad, and Mumbai, Mr. Sreedharan said that the State might go on waiting until all the cities implemented the Light Metro System. The proposed Kochi Metro railway would cost only half of the cost required for the New Delhi project. A delay of one day in implementing the project will increase cost by around 20 lakh for the State government, said Mr. Sreedharan who was in Kochi the other day. Incidentally, a techno-feasibility study for the Kochi metro Railway project three years ago. By the report, a 21-km metro railway system was to be developed in Kochi connecting Kalamassery and Thripunithura with stations at an interval of 1 km. The report was submitted to the State Government in 1999. However, the State Government has not yet responded to the repeated reminders of the DMRC for implementing the project in Kochi, he said. Mr. Sreedharan said that he would soon write to the Chief Minister urging him to take lead for the implementation of the project. He also criticised the KRC managing director Dr. Rajaram's claim that the sky bus was a technically viable project and it would be able to travel at a speed of 100 km per hour. ``I know that it is unfair to talk against an organisation which I led as its Managing Director. However, I am constrained to state that the KRC's project is not a viable one and no country has ever set up such a system'', said Mr. Sreedharan who was the first CMD of Konkan Railway. Currently, 71 metro railway projects are being implemented in different parts of the world and in New Delhi it is operating successfully between Sharda and Thees Hazari, he pointed out. The future of the Sky bus project would depend on the techno feasibility study that has been initiated at the behest of the Prime Minister's Office and it would take at least 3 years to complete the study. It will take another 10 years to implement the project if the committee clears the proposal, he said. Considering the terrain and the limited scope for road development in Kochi, metro railway, which would be set up along the road median, would be the ideal one. The preparation of the detailed project report for the project can be completed within four months and would require Rs. 1 crore. The Central Government would reimburse 40 per cent of the amount invested for any such project, he said. The cost of setting up metro railway in Kochi would come around Rs. 60 to Rs. 65 crore per kilometer and the passenger fare would be below Rs. 1 per kilometer, he pointed out. The Kochi project would cost around Rs. 1500 crore. The Central and the State Governments would have to bear 20 per cent of the project cost and 5 -10 per cent expense can be met by selling the space developed as stations and private investments. The banks will also be more than willing for funding such a project, Mr. Sreedharan said. Mr. Sreedharan was not in favour of foreign funds as it would be a time consuming process and would eventually escalate the project cost.
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