A petition was filed on Wednesday in the Kerala High Court seeking a directive to the Kochi Metro Rail Corporation to extend the rail to Tripunithura.
The petition was filed by A.B. Babu. The extension of the rail from Pettah to Tripunithura would benefit the corporation, Mr. Babu claimed.
The land acquired at Pettah would not be able to accommodate facilities such as a metro station-cum-commercial complex, parking area for commuters and loco-service station.
The acquisition would lead to the eviction of a large number of families and vendors. If the rail was extended to Tripunithura eviction of families could be avoided, he said.
The petitioner said 10 acres of unused land of SAIL at Tripunithura could be used to build a metro station and set up other facilities.
The terminal point could also be set up on paddy fields near the Tripunithura railway station. Authorities were yet to conduct a study in this regard, he said.
The petitioner said extending the metro rail in the first phase itself would ensure the economic viability of the project. All commuters using the metro rail would benefit if the service terminated at Tripunithura.
The proposed extension would be an added advantage as the terminal point would be a meeting point of the metro rail, the Tripunithura railway station and the proposed municipal bus terminal in the area, he said.
