Kochi Metro: A fast transit system for financial capital of Kerala

In Kerala, India, the city of Kochi has a fast transit system called the Kochi Metro.

It is one of the fastest-completed metro projects in India; it was made public four years after work began. The Kochi metro project is the nation’s first metro that links rail, road, and marine transportation services. The first phase is set up at an estimated cost of Rs. 51.81 billion. As part of the annual Urban Mobility India (UMI) international conference, the Urban Development Ministry honoured Kochi Metro in October 2017 as the country’s best urban mobility project.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi officially opened a 13.4-kilometre segment of the line from Aluva to Palarivattom on June 17, 2017, after construction on the project began in June 2013. On October 3, 2017, a second 5-kilometre segment was opened between Palarivattom and Maharaja’s College metro station. On September 3, 2019, CM Pinarayi Vijayan and Housing and Urban Affairs Minister H.S Puri officially opened a new 5.65-kilometre segment from Maharaja’s College Stadium to Thaikoodam. The Kochi Metro also has driverless train technology and plans to use it shortly.

The Kochi Metro is lauded for hiring transgender people and Kudumbashree employees. It is the initial rapid transit system where women carry out all managerial functions. A vertical garden is installed on every sixth metro pillar, solar electricity is installed, and non-motorized transportation routes are all part of the system’s sustainability objectives.