Transportation experts bat for alternatives to metro rail
The Hindu
‘Metro neo can be readied at ₹75 crore per km, compared to ₹300 crore for conventional metro’
Faced with the ₹5,182-crore Kochi metro encountering a daily loss of around ₹1 crore and recording not even 10% of the passenger patronage mentioned in the DPR, urban transport experts are demanding that metro neo, metro lite, or modernised bus transport systems be adopted for its extensions and for mass rapid transport systems (MRTS) mooted for Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode. This comes in the wake of fears that the Kochi metro might become yet another agency entrapped in massive losses, like the KSRTC, if the State government does not opt for practical and cost-effective ways while choosing MRTS for the three cities. Many tier-II cities and a Delhi metro extension have chosen metro lite over the conventional metro rail system. The Kochi metro’s ₹1,957-crore Kakkanad extension and light metros mooted for Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode are awaiting clearance of the Union Cabinet and the Centre respectively.
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