KMRL mulls reconstruction of South ROB

KOCHI: The Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL) authorities will soon look into the possibilities of the reconstruction of the South Railway Overbridge (ROB) as part of the proposed Kochi Metro Rail project.The decision was taken by the KMRL authorities after holding a meeting on Saturday with various civil society organisations of the city.“The suggestion to rebuild the South ROB was a major request put forth by the participants of the meeting, as once the Metro Rail lines are completed in this area, the bridge can never be reconstructed. The restructuring of the bridge will solve most of the traffic congestion in the southern part of the city. We will check the possibility of the plan with authorities concerned and will take this forward,” said KMRL Managing Director Tom Jose.Regarding the parking facilities at the proposed Metro Rail stations, Jose said that a study report in this regard would be submitted within a month and further decisions would be taken based on the recommendations made in the report.The KMRL authorities will also convene regular meetings with civil society representatives once in every two months to discuss the development project and seek ways to minimise the problems and difficulties people might come across during project implementation. It will also launch an awareness programme called ‘Know Your Metro’.The participants also put forth the idea of extending the Metro Rail service to Tripunithura, Nedumbassery, Kakkanad and Western Kochi, to which Jose said that a feasibility study in all these areas will be conducted after the completion of the first phase of the Kochi Metro Rail.