KOCHI: With the Kochi metro set to become the first metro-rail system in India to commission the longest stretch (13-km-long Aluva-Palarivattom corridor) in one go and the fastest to achieve the feat, high-speed trials will commence in the corridor on Tuesday or Wednesday, according to Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) Principal Advisor E. Sreedharan.
The trials will see trains touch the design speed of 80 km per hour, which they achieved on the Aluva-Edappally stretch in January.
Speaking to The Hindu , Mr. Sreedharan said signalling and telecommunication systems (which are tailor-made for Communication Based Train Control - CBTC) are ready in the corridor up to Palarivattom to enable high-speed trials. “The Commissioner for Metro Railway Safety (CMRS) is scheduled to inspect the corridor in the first week of April. For this, the DMRC will complete all pending works by March end,” he said.
On opening the corridor to commuters on Vishu day (April 13), Mr. Sreedharan said it was up to the State government to take a call. “At Monday’s meeting, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the date of commissioning could be decided once the CMRS issues safety certificate. At present, the last lap of work is on at all the 11 stations in the corridor,” he added.
Mr. Sreedharan reiterated that the 5-km-long Palarivattom-Maharaja’s College Ground stretch would be ready for commissioning in another four months – ie., by July. On re-tendering of work on the metro viaduct on the Maharaja’s College Ground-Ernakulam Junction railway station and Kunnara Park-Thripunithura stretches, he said fresh tenders would be opened by the end of March, while a contractor would be fixed by April.
Meanwhile, Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL) Managing Director Elias George expressed contentment over the completion of the 13-km corridor up to Palarivattom in a path-breaking three years and nine months. “Much shorter distances were commissioned initially for other metro-rail systems in the country, and they all took over four years,” he added.
On the reluctance of the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) to temporarily part with 60 cents of unused land near its Palarivattom section office, Mr. George said the issue would be sorted out so that there would be space to park vehicles near the Palarivattom metro station. “Similarly, we will obtain land on lease and build multi-level parking lots in the vicinity of all metro stations,” he added.
DMRC Kochi Project Director Dani Thomas was among those who attended the meeting convened by the Chief Minister on Monday.
