Kochi Metro’s civil and system works may be delayed up to six months, from the original schedule. Metro sources attribute this to the delay in constructing station buildings and the strikes that slowed down or sometimes even crippled the project’s civil works on the 18-km Aluva-Maharaja’s College Ground corridor.
In the process, inspection by Commissioner for Railway Safety (CRS) that was scheduled for March 2016 might have to be postponed to June 2016.
This in turn is expected to delay the commencement of metro’s commercial operations by a few months post June – the month in which the metro ought to be operational, metro sources said. There is delay in building entry and exit points of stations. This is because civil contractors are storing materials for station construction on space earmarked for entry and exit, citing lack of alternative space.
Trial runs
But this will not affect trial runs, claimed DMRC officials. “The metro viaduct and stations en route, which are expected to be ready by December, are sufficient for conducting trial runs from March 2016 on Aluva-Palarivattom stretch.”
Construction works of metro stations at Muttom and at international stadium are encountering delay due to the delay in finalising drawings of third track that leads to coach-maintenance depot at Muttom and that of metro’s Kakkanad extension that begins from the stadium.
The silver lining is that Cusat and Kalamassery stations are expected to attain final shape in October, giving people an idea of how each metro station will look like.
“We have set an internal deadline of 234 days (as on Aug 11) to complete the project by mid-2016, though it (the original 25-km Aluva-Pettah corridor) ought to be over by June 2017 as per the agreement. We agreed to complete the project by June 2016 since the government made a special request. Completing such a massive project within this time frame is unparalleled in Kerala and even in India,” DMRC sources said.
