Festive season : Kochi Metro witness a daily average of 70,000 commuters

Ernakulam :  Kochi Metro on Thursday witnessed record number of passengers. On Thursday, the metro issued 1,01,463 tickets to passengers.

In a big relief to commuters, the much-awaited stretch of Kochi Metro services from Maharaja’s college to Thykoodam  started on September 4.

The 5.6 km long stretch was inaugurated by Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday. There are five stations between Maharaja’s College and Thykoodam.

Ernakulam South, Kadavanthra, Elamkulam, Vytilla and Thykoodam. With the inauguration of the remaining part of the Kochi Metro’s first phase, the functioning stretch of the metro services has touched a total of 24 km.

The remaining one kilometre stretch is expected to be complete by January, 2020. Once the remaining stretch is opened, the Kochi Metro will cover a distance of 25 km from Palarivattom to Aluva reducing travel time by at least an hour or two.

The metro service will start at 6 am. As part of the inaugural offer, Kochi Metro Rail Line is offering a 50% discount for all travelers from September 4-18.

During the first anniversary celebrations of the Kochi Metro, the ridership was 1,55,606. However, it was free service to passengers as part of anniversary celebration.

Before this anniversary season, the highest number of passengers with tickets was reported on June 27, 2017 with 98,310. It was the first Sunday after the inauguration of Kochi Metro.

This record was beaten on September 7, 2019 with 99,680 passengers. Metro officials said a remarkable increase in the ridership was witnessed after the inauguration of the metro extension from Maharajas college to Thaikkudam on September 4.

There has been considerable rush from the beginning of the onam holidays. Since September 3, around 6,73,934 passengers have travelled in the metro train.

From June 17, 2017 to September 1, 2019, as many as 2.84 crore people have travelled in the metro train. Average ridership on a normal day was between 40,000 to 45,000. As the extension route was commissioned, the average number of passengers on a day has risen to 70,000.

It is a good sign that people began to utilize the metro services to its proper extent. But the impact will be analyzed properly only after the festive season.