Land filling and related earth works at Kochi Metro’s coach-maintenance depot at Muttom will be completed by February 2015, Principal Adviser of Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) E. Sreedharan has said.
Replying to queries sent by The Hindu , he said the depot would be commissioned in two stages. Initially, the minimum work needed for commissioning the first set of coaches will be done. The first stage was expected to be completed by December 2015, Mr. Sreedharan said.
French company Alstom is expected to despatch the first lot of coaches by December 2015 or January 2016. There were concerns whether the depot would be ready by then, due to delays and obstacles faced in land filling.
Referring to factors that delayed earth filling, he said there was delay in handing over land. “Frequent agitation and unlawful stoppage of works by outside unions too held up work. Revenue officials also often withheld permission to quarry earth to the depot and also seized vehicles owned by the contractor. Delay in shifting overhead power lines for want of land to locate new transmission towers too posed problems.”
There was also obstruction by local people to ferrying mud through the road in front of their houses, till a subway was built to ensure direct access to the highway, metro officials said.
As for the progress of works at Muttom depot, they said around 5 lakh lorry loads of red earth was used for raising and levelling the 58-acre premises. “Another 10,000 loads are required to raise it by another two feet when pile capping gets over.”
The agency designated to supply drawings and depot design is yet to complete their work. DMRC’s Principal Adviser E. Sreedharan has asked them to speed up the task. The stabling shed, test track, operational control centre and a few smaller structures have to be built by December 2015. Staff quarters would be built later on, the officials said.
The depot works could have been sped up if a subway built recently was constructed at least a year ago. This would have saved money too, they said.
