Kerala CM inaugurates Kochi Metro's second stretch from Palarivattom to Maharaja's

Four-year-long wait has finally come to an end as the Kochi Metro makes its way to the heart of the city. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan today inaugurated the second stretch of metro from Palarivattom to Maharaja's.

The second reach will extend the service distance of Kochi Metro from 13 to 17 kms. The first reach from Aluva to Palarivattom was inaugurated in June this year.

The new reach has been completed and opened for commercial use in a record time of just three months.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan who flagged off the second reach said that the government and KMRL hope to complete the first phase by opening the stretch till Tripunithura at the earliest. Land acquisition is one of the greatest challenges that we are facing.

However, we hope that the project is completed on time. The government is also keen on the second line from Kaloor to Infopark which will benefit the IT sector.

On an average 30,000 people use metro every day, this is not at all bad, as the route extends to Maharajas station these numbers will obviously increase. We are working hard to materialise the water project. Also, Kochi will soon get electric and CNG buses to supplement the metro operations, he added.

The four-km newly opened stretch will have 5 stations. The first satiation in the new stretch will be Jawaharlal Nehru Station close to the international stadium which is one of the venues for the upcoming FIFA U17 world cup.

The metro will then head towards Kaloor - the transport hub of the city, followed by 'Lissie' for Ernakulam Town railway station and finally end at 'Mahrajas' station via MG Road.

The 17-km metro stretch from Aluva to Maharajas will now take approximately 30 minutes, as compared to 50-60 minutes spent on the road. The metro is expected to ease the traffic burden in the fastest developing city in the state.

Though the new stretch will increase the footfall to metro, experts say that the project will be viable only after the 25 km first phase is completed. The base fare on Kochi Metro remains unchanged at Rs 10 with further fare stages at Rs 20, Rs 30 and Rs 40.