India Today | Commuters surge as metro service extends to heart of Kochi

Feb 04,2022

Little over 2 years since its inauguration, Kochi Metro has already become an integral part of the city.

With the number of commuters rising steadily, Kochi Metro has also started generating surplus revenue from operations on most days. On Saturday, a record 95,285 commuters used the Kochi Metro, which is the highest number since its commercial operation began in June 2017.

On September 3, Kerala Cheif Minister Pinarayi Vijayan along with Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri inaugurated the new stretch from Maharaja's College to Thykoodam.

This includes some of the busiest towns in the city including Ernakulam South Railway station, Kadavanthara and Vyttila Mobility hub.

The benefits of the new stretch were visible very quickly as the number of passengers rose from 39,936 on September 3 to a whopping 65,285 on September 4.

Over the week, the numbers gradually rose and touched a record 95,285 commuters on September 7. Even on Sunday, a total of 89,133 people used the Kochi Metro.

Speaking to India Today TV, Kochi Metro Rail Limited MD Mohammed Hanish said that this certainly is a positive sign.

"As soon as the new reach was opened for commercial operations, we started getting a good response from the general public. With the new reach extending up to Thykoodam, we have linked most of the busy junctions. Now, a commuter who is taking a metro from Aluva, in the outskirts of the city can directly reach Vytiila mobility hub, the busiest junction in the state. The line has also connected Ernakulam Junction and Town railway stations making rail transit much easier," he said.

Even as many active metro services across the country find it difficult to meet operational cost from their own revenue, the Kochi Metro has surpassed that hurdle within two years of its inauguration.

The metro service reported revenue surplus as early as in April this year.

"Even with average passenger traffic of 40,000 people per day, we have been running on revenue surplus. Now, with the new line being opened we are expecting the numbers to stabilise somewhere between 65,000 to 75,000. If that happens we will be well on course to reach a revenue surplus of 2.5 to 3 lakh rupees a day," Hanish said.

"Interestingly, a large share of our revenue is coming from non-ticket sources. Since last year we have witnessed a steep hike in demand for our commercial spaces inside metro stations. We are well on course to become the second metro after DMRC which will be operating on profit," he added.