Any possible extension of the Kochi metro to High Court Junction or Menaka can be done only after it is extended to Kakkanad and Angamaly through the international airport, Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL) Managing Director A.P.M. Mohammed Hanish has said.
“We are open to such a move, since it will boost patronage of the metro,” he said, while responding to the demand from various quarters to hew out a 1.5-km-long extension from Madhava Pharmacy Junction on M.G. Road to Menaka or to the High Court, to attract more commuters to the metro system.
“The average daily passenger patronage now is less than 40,000, though the project’s DPR estimated it to be over 3 lakh. This has resulted in the project incurring over ₹12 lakh operational loss per day. Under this circumstance, the KMRL must pay heed to the demand to extend the metro to the city’s western end — Marine Drive/High Court Junction area,” said Ebenser Chullikat, city-based RTI activist.
‘Help islanders’
The move will, in turn, benefit people from Goshree islands and nearby areas who commute to the city daily for work and education. With private buses from the islands barred from entering the city, they disembark passengers at High Court Junction. The passengers then had to take another bus or avail other commuting modes to reach their destinations in the city and nearby municipalities, he said.
Feeder buses
An urban transportation expert who did not want to be named said operating two dozen low-floor AC buses clockwise and anti-clockwise in the M.G. Road-High Court-Menaka-Park Avenue Road-D.H. Road-M.G. Road circular corridor was a better option. “This would entail a capital investment of just around ₹25 crore, as compared to the around ₹300 crore that will be required for extending the metro up to Menaka. Buses will also ensure last-mile connectivity,” he said.
