Road connectivity must be established from Hill Palace Road for the Kochi metro which is slated to be extended from SN Junction to near the Thripunithura railway station, the Thripunithura Rajanaragi Union of Residents’ Associations (TRURA) has demanded.
This could be done if a 250-metre-long road was built from the southern side of the Thripunithura railway overbridge, up to the metro’s terminal station that has been proposed on the south-western side of the railway station. This road was crucial to ensure patronage for the metro from people living in places such as Thalayolaparambu, Chottanikkara, Piravom, and Muvattupuzha. In the absence of such a road, they would have to travel all the way up to SN Junction, where parking space would be minimal, said V.P. Prasad, chairman of TRURA.
Already, the KMRL had planned a 16-m-wide road from SN Junction to the metro’s terminal station.
All that was needed is to extend this to Hill Palace Road, thus hewing out a road parallel to SN Junction-East Fort Junction Road. This would in turn decongest the bottlenecked SN Junction and East Fort Junction.
The other alternative for commuters from Hill Palace Road to reach the metro station would be through the access road to the railway station.
The Railway has placed a boom barrier to regulate movement of vehicles through this stretch that it owns.
Getting the Railway's permission to open the road for commuters of other modes might be tough. Moreover, the two-lane road would be insufficient to cater to commuters of both trains which halt and the station and metro-rail commuters, he said.
TRURA has submitted a memorandum in this regard to KMRL, the Chief Minister, the Minister for Public Works G Sudhakaran, and M. Swaraj, Thripunithura MLA.
The president of the Railway Station Road Residents’ Association, P.M. Boban, spoke of how a road from Hill Palace Road could be realised easily since the area was largely marshy and has only a couple of buildings.
Sources in the KMRL said that it was too early to comment on the demand raised by TRURA. This had not been discussed officially. “We are getting many suggestions regarding extension of the metro beyond SN Junction and allied matters,” they said.
In the meantime, the metro agency is in the process of laying survey stones to demarcate the extent of land needed for the proposed viaduct.
“The process picked up pace three weeks ago,” said Jayan, a land owner residing on the stretch.