Kerala Govt approves Kozhikode and Thiruvananthapuram Light Metro Rail Projects

Thiruvananthapuram, India (Urban Transport News): In order to ease the traffic congestion and to provide an effective public transport alternative, Kerala State Cabinet on 12th February 2021 gave their approval for the long-awaited and prestigious 35.12 km light metro rail projects in Kozhikode and Thiruvananthapuram. 

According to the order issued by the Public Works Department, Govt. of Kerala, the Government has accorded its approval for a combined cost of Rs 7,446 crore. The 21.8-km light rail corridor from Pallipuram to Karamana in Thiruvananthapuram will now cost Rs 4,673 crores on completion and the 13.3-km Light Rail Corridor from Medical College to Meenchandha stretch in Kozhikode will cost Rs 2,773 crore.

The detailed project reports of both projects have been prepared by Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) under the guidance of E. Sreedharan, Principal Advisor. DMRC had submitted the revised DPR in December 2017 as per the revised Metro Policy-2017 of the Central Government. The same was approved by the Kerala Rapid Transit Corporation Limited board on 19th October 2020. The contribution of the State Government will be Rs 2,187 crores, including land cost, spread over a period of five years, said in the order.

The DPR has recommended enhancing the Floor Area Ratio (FAR) along the metro corridor from 2.5 to 4 for transit-oriented development. In the case of value capture finance, property tax along the corridor will be increased by 50%. Further, an increase of 2% in land registration charges on either side of the corridor has also been proposed.

The state government has also approved the revised fare for up to two km is Rs 13, two to five km Rs 25, 5 to 12 km Rs 38, 12-21 km Rs 51, and Rs 63 for above 21 km, as proposed by the KRTL.

The state government will formulate a Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority (UMTA) for efficient implementation of the projects. Now the DPRs of both projects will be sent to the Central Government for approval.

For more details about routes and stations, please explore the "Kozhikode Metro" and "Thiruvananthapuram Metro" pages of Urban Transport News.