KMRL floats tender for Kochi metro’s Aluva-Angamaly extension with airport connectivity

KMRL seeks consultancy for metro's Aluva-Angamaly extension with airport connectivity, focusing on efficiency, cost, and public impact.

Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL) has floated tenders seeking consultancy services to prepare a detailed project report (DPR) for the metro’s third-phase extension in the Aluva-Angamaly corridor with airport connectivity.

The DPR ought to be readied by July-end. Both the Centre and the KMRL director board have given their go-ahead for the metro’s phase-3 extension, it is learnt.

The consultant will have the option of choosing between elevated and underground options, or a combination of both for the extension, based on technical and financial feasibility. This ought to be on the basis of the availability of land and minimum dislocation of public and heritage structures, and economic aspects, according to the tender document.

While the construction of the elevated viaduct costs approximately ₹250 crore per km, it is estimated to be approximately ₹450 crore per km if an underground extension is to be built. The cost of underground extension has come down from around ₹600 a km owing to the lessening cost of tunnel boring machines, sources said.

The updated comprehensive mobility plan (CMP) for Kochi had recommended a rail-based mass transit corridor from Aluva to Angamaly with airport connectivity. The DPR ought to focus on fast and efficient mobility solutions for the public, covering important traffic nodes, while care ought to be taken to minimise the adverse impact on the local population during the metro’s construction and operation. The report must also identify avenues for transit-oriented development to improve the financial viability of the project and to make it even more beneficial to the public.

The other requirements include daily and hourly ridership, length, number of stations, sharp curves, travel time, land acquisition cost, frequency of train operation, rolling stock and depot requirements, operational efficiency, ease of travel for passengers, ‘interchange’ difficulties, and technology selection for all civil, track and system components.

Recommendations based on the best practices adopted in other metro projects and the feasibility of using rolling stock that is different from those that are being used in the metro’s phase-1 and two corridors too ought to be submitted. This is apart from a study on the provision for the future extension of the phase-3 corridor to the Gift City proposed in Ayyampuzha, in the Kochi-Bengaluru Industrial Corridor.