Pettah-S.N. Junction metro stretch to be commissioned in March 2022

Track laying begins; Kochi metro’s Thripunithura railway station extension by June 2022

The Pettah-S.N. Junction stretch of the Kochi metro will be commissioned in March 2022, as per revised schedule, with Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL) completing 72% of work in the 1.70-km corridor. KMRL had earlier fixed December 2021 as the deadline for commissioning the stretch.

Subsequently, laying of tracks on a 500-metre stretch has begun, to be followed by another 500 metres in a week. Track-laying in the final lap atop the viaduct at the Pettah overbridge and Vadakkekotta will begin in June, sources in the metro agency said.

As many as 57 of the 61 pier caps and 208 of the 276 I-girders have already been launched. Similarly, 75% of deck slabs have been installed. Around 900 metres of viaduct have been completed with parapet erection and handed over for track work. Unlike during last year’s lockdown when the metro work suffered after a bulk of the workforce left for their home States, altogether 400 workers have been deployed in multiple shifts in the metro corridor in keeping with the COVID-19 protocol. Their accommodation has been arranged in four locales, and arrangements have been made for medical assistance if any of them tests positive for SARS-CoV-2, the sources said.

As for the work on the two metro stations, pile and pile-cap works have been completed. Deck slab work at the SN Junction station (where 40 % of work is over) is nearing completion, and the premises will be handed over to the architectural contractor for finishing work. At the Vadakkekotta station, 25% of works is over.

Land acquisition

Land acquisition is on beyond SN Junction, to further extend the metro to its terminal station near the Thripunithura railway station. This 1.20-km stretch is expected to be completed by June 2022.

A social impact assessment (SIA) has been done, and the report approved by an expert committee has been submitted to the government. Land acquisition for the 1.20-km extension is expected to be completed by August this year. Civil and precast works are in full swing, the sources said.

Meanwhile, the Thripunithura Rajanagari Union of Residents Associations (TRURA) has reiterated its demand for a road link from Thripunithura Town-Hill Palace Road to the terminal station, to ensure optimal usage of the metro extension.

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