Steel Industries Kerala Limited (SILK), which has been engaged as consultant to ready a master plan for relocating the KSRTC’s Ernakulam bus depot to Karikkamuri and building a commercial complex after demolishing the existing structure, will submit a concept plan by June-end.
The KSRTC will take a call on the recommendations, following which a detailed project report (DPR) will be readied, official sources said.
According to the plan, the KSRTC will construct a bus station-cum-garage on 3.46 acres it owns at Karikkamuri. A commercial complex will be built in 4.77 acres which now houses the bus station and garage.
Multi-modal connectivity
“We have conceived a supermarket, a sports complex like the one at the Regional Sports Centre at Kadavanthra, a hotel, restaurants, a She Lodge for women, a dormitory, and space to freshen oneself at hourly rates in the complex. The locational advantage would be that the proposed new bus station and the Ernakulam Junction railway station will be within walking distance, while the Maharaja’s College metro station will be a stone’s throw away from the new station, thus ushering in multi-modal connectivity,” the sources added.
The project will also bring about direct road connectivity between the bus station and railway station, through which people will be able to walk safely.
The Kochi Corporation is spearheading the construction of a ‘green corridor’ to link the Ernakulam Junction and Town railway stations in association with GIZ, a German agency which is helping implement the Integrated Sustainable Urban Transport Systems for Smart Cities (SMART-SUT) project, under the umbrella of the Green Urban Mobility Partnership between India and Germany. This will enable connectivity from the proposed bus station’s eastern side as well.
“Circular bus services could be introduced linking the station with the adjacent railway and metro stations,” KSRTC officials said.
Thevara depot
During the construction phase, cleaning and repair of buses might be shifted to the KSRTC’s Thevara depot where the agency’s low-floor buses are based. These buses will in all probability continue to be parked there even after the new bus station is readied. They will be able to come to the station and pick up passengers.
