Kochi: Even as the Kochi Metro Rail Ltd (KMRL) has submitted a detailed project report to the state govt regarding the proposed extension from Aluva to Angamaly, various stakeholders are pushing for a realignment to facilitate direct connectivity to Angamaly railway station and the municipal bus stand.
A growing coalition of bus operators, local merchants, citizen action groups, and urban transport experts has come out in the open against the current alignment proposal that skips the key railway station and instead takes the Nayathode route after Kochi airport to connect Karayamparambu in Angamaly.
Because the existing road is too narrow, “The proposed Nayathode route will still require substantial land acquisition.
Instead, the Metro should be integrated with the upcoming Angamaly–Kochi Airport Bypass project, initiated by the Roads and Bridges Development Corporation of Kerala (RBDCK),” said Arjun P Bhaskar, a member. The land acquisition for the first stage of the KIIFB-funded bypass is in its final stages, featuring a four-lane road connecting Karayamparambu signal junction to the railway station, running parallel to the tracks before extending to the airport, according to RBDCK officials. Seby Varghese, president of Angamaly metro action council, criticised the planned route through rural Nayathode. Citizen collective ‘Kochi First’ too challenged KMRL’s cost arguments. Building the elevated Metro over this pre-planned corridor, stakeholders argue, would offer a far more cost-effective and seamless transit solution.