Monorail scrapped, LRTS mooted

KMCL board cites prohibitive cost quoted in tender

The elevated Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS) for Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode, a flagship project of the State under Mission 676, has been scrapped, and instead a Light Rapid Transit System (LRTS) (light metro) has been mooted for the two cities.

The decision was taken by the director board of Kerala Monorail Corporation Ltd. (KMCL) chaired by Chief Minister Oommen Chandy here on Thursday.

The board abandoned the monorail, citing the prohibitive cost quoted by Bombardier Transportation Holdings USA Inc.

The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), the general consultant for the project, has been asked to submit a detailed project report (DPR) for the LRTS in four weeks, Minister for Public Works V.K. Ebrahim Kunju, who is also the vice-chairman of the KMCL, told The Hindu .

Unanimous decision

The board went by the DMRC report, and Principal Adviser E. Sreedharan’s advice to reject the lone tender submitted by the consortium for selecting the ‘exclusive developer contractor.’

“The decision to reject the tender was unanimous,” he said.

Cost factor

The DPR prepared by the DMRC put the estimate at Rs.5,581 crore. The consortium had quoted Rs.10,392 crore.

The consortium had omitted Rs.4,108 crore additional expenses that were included in the bid.

The cost of the monorail came above the Kochi Metro Rail, and the State could not afford it, Mr. Kunju said.

Merits of light metro

The KMCL board decided to go for the LRTS as it was technologically advanced and cheaper compared to the price quoted in the financial bid for the monorail.

The project area and the alignment would remain the same for the LRTS. Global tenders would be floated after the DMRC submitted the DPR.

The other modalities would be decided by the board, he said.

Separate tenders

To ensure timely completion of the LRTS and reduce the cost, Mr. Kunju said the tenders for civil, signalling, and rolling stock would be floated separately unlike in the case of monorail for which there was a combined bid.

Ministers K.M. Mani, Aryadan Mohammed, and V.S. Sivakumar; Public Works Secretary T.O. Sooraj; KMCL managing director P.I. Sheikh Pareeth, Kochi Metro Rail Ltd. MD Elias George, and Kerala Road Fund Board Chief Operating Officer P.C. Harikesh were present.

The monorail was mooted on a 22.2-km stretch from Techno City to Karamana in the capital city and on a 14.2-km stretch from Government Medical College hostel area to Meenchanda in Kozhikode.