A group of 40 children from special schools were the first to commute in Yamuna, the first train to begin commercial operation in the Kochi Metro’s 1.80-km Pettah-SN Junction extension that was constructed at a cost of ₹453 crore.
All eyes turned to a youth dressed as King Mahabali as the children waited for about an hour for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to flag off the train, online. The first train was driven by Aneesha, a woman loco pilot. Some of the children were taken into the train in wheelchairs.
Commuter responses
Among those who commuted in trains that followed suit was Asha Lakshmi and her friends from Maradu. “We are elated that the metro has been extended to Thripunithura after an arduous wait and hope that its further extension up to near the Thripunithura railway station will be completed as scheduled,” she said.
Then there was Manoj N. Anandan and his two children, who reside near the SN Junction metro station, who returned to the station after commuting up to Vadakkekotta. “Having witnessed the evolution of metro stations, we were keen to explore the interiors of the two stations [which have been done up in Ayurveda and Freedom Struggle themes, respectively],” Mr. Anandan said and spoke of how his house was among those in the neighbourhood that suffered damage due to piling for the station.
The metro ought to have been extended beyond the terminal station at Aluva, up to the adjacent Aluva railway station, which would automatically have improved footfalls in the metro, he added.
There were also others like Renjith Krishan, who lives in an apartment nearby, who commuted up to Pettah and returned. “I could not see the landmark buildings on the sides, since it was dark. I hope to commute again on Friday to get a glimpse,” he said.
Road connectivity
Office-bearers of Thripunithura Rajanagari Union of Residents Association (TRURA), which led the campaign for extending the metro beyond Pettah, hoped that the State government would allot funds to build a 22-metre-wide road beneath the upcoming SN Junction-Thripunithura terminal station metro viaduct as in the rest of the metro corridor and further extend it to Hill Palace Road.
“On its part, KMRL could have made use of the two-month time span since June when the Commissioner for Railway Safety issued the safety certificate for the 1.8-km Pettah-SN Junction extension, till its commissioning on Thursday, to complete footpath and road resurfacing works on the busy road beneath,” said TRURA’s convenor V.C. Jayendran and chairman V.P. Prasad.
They were also critical of the Pettah-SN Junction extension’s flag-off function not being held at Thripunithura.
