Average ridership during year at 35,213 per day
KOCHI: The Kochi Metro Rail Ltd (KMRL or Kochi Metro) an equally owned joint venture between the Governments of India and Kerala, has posted a loss of Rs167.33 crore for the year ending March 31, 2018 compared with a loss of Rs11.15 crore for the previous year.
KMRL, with paid-up capital of Rs1507.46 crore, has generated total revenue of a meagre Rs64.09 crore for the period under review, far less than the loss reported by the company.
KMRL commenced commercial operations for the stretch from Aluva to Palarivattom (Reach 1) on June 19, 2017 and from Palarivattom to Maharaja’s College (Reach 2A) on October 3, 2017 in the year under review.
The remaining part – Reach 2B of the project, the Maharaja’s College-Petta corridor with a total distance of 12.1 kms and with 11 stations is expected to be completed in 2019 itself.
The average ridership per day and revenue collection in the first month for Reach 1 was 46,696 passengers and Rs16 lakh respectively. For subsequent months, the average ridership and revenue per day was recorded at 24,132 passengers and Rs8 lakh respectively.
Total fare box revenue from June 19, 2017 to March 31, 2018 was Rs32.17 crore with average ridership of 35,213 per day, according to the company annual report.
During the year 2017-18, Government of India provided Rs65.91 crore (previous year Rs30 crore) as interest-free subordinate debt towards Central Taxes. Government of Kerala has provided an amount of Rs95.91 crore towards subordinate debt (Previous year Rs152.59 crore). Thus the total subordinate debt received till March 31, 2018 from both the Governments amounted to Rs 839.85 crore.
The Board of KMRL has already approved Phase II of the Kochi Metro Rail Project from JLN station, Kaloor to Kerala’s IT hub at Kakkanad comprising 11 stations, with a length of 11.2 km. The Detailed Project Report (DPR), after revision under the new Metro Rail Policy 2017, was submitted to the Government of Kerala for its administrative sanction.
After its approval, it has been forwarded to Government of India and is currently under their consideration. The French funding agency Agence Française de Développement (AFD) has shown interest in funding the project. Once the approval is in place, the Phase II Project is expected to be completed within a time span of 4 years..
Apart from providing a modern Mass Rapid Transit System in the city of Kochi, the KMRL is upgrading its role to become a total transport solution provider for the people, according to its chairman Durga Shanker Mishra, who is also Secretary to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India (GOI).
The company is in the process of integrating all modes of public transport, such as the metro, the buses, the ferries and non-motorised transport into a single seamless system with a single network, a single ticket and a single timetable.
“In this regard, the company has also framed a draft Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority (UMTA) Bill, which is under the consideration of the State Government,” the KMRL chairman added.
Feeder Network KMRL is actively promoting use of auto rickshaws for achieving the last mile connectivity and has facilitated in aggregating 15,000 auto rickshaws under one Auto Society, ‘Ernakulam District Auto Rickshaw Drivers Co-Operative Society”.
KMRL has contracted Kinetic Green to facilitate E-Autos as feeder to Kochi Metro. The Auto Society will manage the auto rickshaws including e-autos. Additionally, a JDI was signed with Vinsca Electric Vehicles Pvt. Ltd for development of 6-7 seater electric feeder vans through retro fitment kits.
