Kerala CM rules out renaming of Kochi Metro after KMRL proposal

Kerala Chief Minister V D Satheesan on Friday said the government is not considering changing the name of Kochi Metro. He said Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL) had announced the proposed name change without consulting the government.

KMRL Managing Director Loknath Behera had submitted a proposal to the state government seeking in-principle approval to rename the company Kerala Metro Rail Limited. However, after elected representatives and political leaders expressed displeasure over the move being made without prior consultation, Satheesan made it clear that the name would not be changed.

Kochi MP Hibi Eden had written to Satheesan opposing the proposal to rename Kochi Metro Rail Limited as Kerala Metro Rail Limited. In his letter, Hibi said Behera had sought the government’s approval for the name change through an unusual move. He said KMRL could be entrusted with planning and implementing urban transport projects across the state, but its name should not be changed for this purpose.

Behera had argued that the proposed name change would reflect KMRL’s plans to undertake urban transport projects across Kerala in addition to operating the Kochi Metro.

The company has completed Phase 1 from Aluva to Tripunithura and is operating at a profit. Phase 2, from Kaloor JLN Stadium to SmartCity, is expected to be completed within a year. KMRL is also involved in projects such as the Kochi Water Metro and electric mobility initiatives. It has also been entrusted with the proposed metro projects in Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode.

Behera had said the name Kochi Metro Rail Limited, which is centred on the city, no longer reflected the company’s expanding present and future scope of operations. Hence, he proposed renaming it Keralam Metro Rail Limited.

The proposal was also based on a national model under which Nagpur Metro was reorganised as Maharashtra Metro, Lucknow Metro as Uttar Pradesh Metro and Ahmedabad Metro as Gujarat Metro.