Kochi Metro has attained a milestone, with a total of over 6 crore people commuting by the system of mass rapid transport since June 2017 when it was commissioned.
Pandemic impact and discounts
This figure could have been attained earlier, but for pandemic curbs and lockdowns. A total of 5 crore people had commuted in the system as on December 2021. The current average daily patronage is 65,000, while 1.12 lakh people travelled in the metro on June 17 (when Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL) announced a flat fare of ₹5 per commuter). It is hoped the daily patronage would cross one lakh, when the 1.80-km Pettah-SN Junction extension is commissioned, says a KMRL release.
All passengers get 50% discount if they travel between 6 a.m. and 8 a.m. and between 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. There is a 50% discount on fare for people aged 75 and above, NCC, Scouts and Guides cadets and police personnel. Travel is free for differently abled people, while a co-passenger would get 50% discount.
Students can avail a day’s pass for ₹80. This is apart from ₹700 weekly pass and ₹2,500 monthly pass for all passengers.
Traffic diversion
The M.K.K. Nair Road that opens to the service road of S.N. Junction overbridge will be temporarily closed from July 16, due to construction works of Kochi Metro from S.N. Junction to Thripunithura.
People travelling to Thripunithura Railway station through SN Junction area have been advised to use Old Railway Station Road, Market Road and Hill Palace Road as alternative roads. The residents of M.K.K. Nair Road and Palliparambukavu area are requested to use these roads and the Railway Station Road for travel towards S.N. Junction and Irumpanam, says a metro release.
