Extending the Light Metro from the proposed 21.82 km Technocity-Karamana corridor to Pappanamcode has been found feasible by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), the turnkey consultant for the MRTS in the capital and Kozhikode.
In its feasibility report submitted to the Kerala Rapid Transit Corporation Ltd (KRTL), the special purpose vehicle set up to execute the MRTS, the DMRC has said that extending the elevated light metro corridor by another two km from Karamana along the NH 66 median, proceeding to Kaliyikkavila, is feasible.
The feasibility report will be submitted to the government with the recommendations of the SPV next week, informed sources told The Hindu .
To extend the corridor from the 19th station at Karamana, land will have to be acquired only for the 20th station at Kaimanam and the 21st station Pappanamcode, since the median in the NH 66 can accommodate the piers of the MRTS.
The State will have to acquire 30 cents each near the Kaimanam and Pappanamcode junctions.
The estimate will go up from the present ₹4,219 crore.
As per the current rates, one km Light Metro corridor, including civil works, will cost the exchequer ₹160 crore. In addition, the State will have to bear the land acquisition cost for the stations.
Ulloor flyover plans
The DMRC was tasked by the high-level meeting chaired by the Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan that met here on July 19 to look into the feasibility of extending the corridor and extending the proposed flyover at Ulloor to Medical College.
On the extension of flyover, the DMRC has come up with two options.
It has pointed out the traffic problems that will crop up once the flyover from Ulloor is extended to Medical College junction where five busy roads meet and where there is heavy pedestrian movement.
The DMRC has stated that the design of the flyover at Ulloor had already been modified taking into account the movement of emergency vehicles to the Medical College, SAT, SCTIMST, RCC. The proposed flyover had been extended it to the Medical College side near temple.
Along with the extended flyover, the DMRC has also suggested scientific improvement of the Medical College junction to unlock the bottleneck.
