Kochi Metro to commence commerical operations by June next

Kochi Metro Rail (KMRL) will commence its commercial operations on 18-km stretch from Aluva to Maharaja's college by June 2016, a top official said today.
The project would be completed in a time-bound manner, Delhi Metro Principal Advisor E Sreedharan told reporters after a high-level meeting of officials of Delhi Metro Rail Corporation and KMRL, led by the their Managing Directors Mangu Singh and Elias George respectively.
DMRC is yet to give the manufacturing clearance for the rolling stock procurement as there are some variations in the tender and product specifications, Kochi Metro sources said.
French multinational company Alstom had won the bid to supply 75 coaches for KMRL. Alstom has a manufacturing unit at Space City in Tamil Nadu, which means KMRL gets coaches made in India based on European technology, the sources added.

The manufacturer will have to design, manufacture, supply, test, and commission coaches latest by December 2015 so that trial runs can begin in early 2016. The bid for the coaches is the biggest single contract of the Rs 5,181-crore Kochi Metro.
To sort out the matter, a three-member committee has been constituted with H S Anand, Director Rolling Stock, DMRC, Delhi, Jitendra Tyagi, DMRC Director (works), Delhi and the corporation's nominee in KMRL and Ved Mani Tiwari, Director KMRL, which would meet in New Delhi on Friday and Saturday next.
The committee would decide on specifications and likley to meet the company officials on Monday, KMRL sources said.

Mangu Singh, accompanied by Jitendra Tyagi, and Director (Electricals), A K Gupta, inspected the alignment between Aluva and Maharajas college, the Metro casting Yard at FACT and HMT Kalamassery and the Muttam Depot.