Kochi and Bangalore Metros get on track
Jun 19, 2017: Kochi’s first metro line started commercial operations, while Bengaluru too added a line to the existing Namma Metro under Phase 1 of the mega project.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off the maiden run of the Kochi metro on Saturday, and took a short inaugural ride on one of the trains along with other dignitaries including Kerala Governor P Sathasivam, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Urban Development Minister Venkaiah Naidu as well as E Sreedharan, popularly known as India's 'Metro Man'.
The Kochi Metro is India’s eighth inter-city metro rail project and is currently 13-kilometre long. It has been built at a cost of Rs 5,181-crore and is planned to cover 25 kilometre across 22 stations in future. Kochi Metro Rail Limited is a fifty - fifty Joint Venture of Government of India and Government of Kerala. It is the first metro project to be commissioned with a modern signalling system called the “Communication Based Train Control Signalling system”. It is also the first metro service in the country to use solar power to meet a quarter of its electricity requirement.
Meanwhile, President Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated the last 12.3 kilometre stretch of Bengaluru's Namma Metro Phase-1. The inauguration marks the completion of the 42-kilometre Phase I project and connects the already operational Majestic station to 10 new stations. The new metro line is on the North-South corridor, or the Green Line, which reduces the travel time - from Majestic to Yelachenahalli by 40 minutes. The Green line that links South Bengaluru is expected to benefit close to 5 lakh commuters and ease the traffic congestion.
The event was attended by Karnataka Governor Vajubhai Vala, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, and Union Ministers Venkaiah Naidu, Ananth Kumar and Sadananda Gowda, among others.
