KOZHIKODE: The monorail project mooted for Kozhikode will cost nearly `1,000 crore, according to a feasibility study made by a Bangalore-based consultancy firm, Wilbur Smith Associates.The report, currently being considered by the government, has also identified potential corridors for the Kozhikode Mass Rapid Transit System, or the monorail as it is popularly known, by using simulation software from CUBE and the data gathered from traffic and household survey to estimate the transport demands in various areas of the district in 2015, 2021, 2031 and 2041. The planned monorail, which will stretch from the Medical College to Ramanattukara, will consist of two phases with the first seeing the development of the transport system from Medical College to Meenchanda and a dedicated bus service to the airport from the city. There will be two terminals for the first phase -- one at the Medical College and the second at Meenchanda -- and will have 14 intermediate phases. In the second phase, it will be expanded to Ramanattukara.The firm, in its report, has recommended developing the monorail along existing roadways as they feel that the project can only be implemented with minimal land acquisition to avoid public protests. The monorail is expected to address the environmental concerns of the city as it will run on what the report terms ‘green options’. A feeder bus service is also planned to be developed to supplement the monorail and connect it with all parts of the district.Wilbur Smith Associates had been entrusted with producing a detailed feasibility study for the Kozhikode monorail by the Kerala Road Fund Board, a statutory body of the state government. The report is currently under the consideration of the Assembly and is expected to be acted on in the next session.
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