Rs 8,000 crore Thiruvananthapuram Metro moves closer to reality as DPR awaits approval

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Detailed Project Report (DPR) of Metro, a dream project of Thiruvananthapuram City will be submitted to the state government within two weeks. The DPR prepared by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation will be submitted for approval by Kochi Metro Rail Limited. If approval is obtained, construction work is expected to begin without any delay.

The revised alignment has a distance of 31 kilometers. The metro railway project stretches from Pappanamcode to Eanchakkal. The route will include 27 stations, three of which are planned as interchange stations. The estimated project cost is around Rs 8,000 crore.

Once approved by the state cabinet, the DPR will be forwarded to the central government for final clearance. After approval, the funding pattern will be finalized. If it follows the model adopted for the Kochi Metro, around 60% of the project cost will be raised through loans, while the central and state governments will contribute 20% each.

The metro stations will be Pappanamcode, Kaimanam, Karamana, Thampanoor, Secretariat, Palayam, Plamoodu, Pattom, Murinjapalam, Thiruvananthapuram Medical College, Ulloor, Pongumoodu, Sreekaryam, Pangappara, Gurumandiram, Kazhakkoottam, Technopark (Phases 1, 2 and 3), Akkulam Lake, Kochuveli, Venpalavattom, Chakkai, Airport and Eanchakkal.

The DPR proposes an entirely elevated metro corridor. Earlier studies had considered an underground section, but the idea was reportedly dropped because it would have nearly doubled the project's cost.