Kochi City Transportation

[mohammedirshad06]

Originally Posted by RKPV

The article is hyped and partially dump. Also, there are peoples like me,last month brought a scotter for family, instead getting the KL 7 BS tag using EKM address, brought it from native.

Even me..... I won't take pain to take time to get KL-7, rather prefer for some other registration, if its less time consuming or others. Some time back, when my bro-in-law brought a new car, he registered with Perumbavoor rather than Kochi, though his permanent address in the city. The reason is it would take more than 2 weeks for in Ernakulam, while half of it in Perumbavoor.

But there are still large chunk of people who think otherway. Otherwise how come the number tag goes beyond BS..... It should stagnant some time back.....

If you recollect, some time back, we had a minister's son who threatened a superstar as well as a leading industrialist from participating in a Number plate auction, just to get one number.... Thats an extreme case... But still many people are crazy with such stuff...

[keralite]

score of autorickshaw's I found in idukki,thodupuzha has kl-7 registrations most of the time. this was on mid 90's. every vehicle broker agrees same year vehicle with "ernakulam registration" gets a little more price. that's why these people go through the trouble to get their vehicles registered KL-7.
I think now, this trend has come down in Thodupuzha municipality. but, still in rural Idukki, You can see KL-7-BR registered rickshaws.
may be, people from immediate neighbouring towns of Kochi will still prefer KL-7
OT: Anyone checked Tirur RTO statistics? KL-55 series reached "J" ,perhaps more higher numbers registered than Kozhikode,Malappuram RTOS. :o

[DileepKS]

Well, my own brother-in-law, who lives in Thripunithura, used his passport which was issued to his old home address in the city to get KL-7. Once registered, he changed the RC address to the current one using his voter's id.

I know a lot of people who do that.

[mohammedirshad06]

With the administration all set to experiment the alternate traffic routes on Saturday as a run up to the demolition of the North overbridge, the Kochi Corporation warns that the move would create chaos, thanks to the heavy inflow of traffic, which is expected during the festive season.

"It is absurd to carry out trial run of vehicles through alternate routes on a weekend. Ramzan and Onam is around the corner and more people will be coming to the city for shopping and other activities. It will only help to create more traffic congestion in the city," said deputy mayor, Bhadra Sateesh.

Had the authorities taken some measures to coordinate various infrastructure projects in the city, the hardship caused to the public would have been minimal. But the authorities have failed to ensure proper cordination between various agencies associated with the infrastructure projects and Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), the agency for implementing the Kochi Metro project.

The Vytilla Mobility Hub, a project envisaged as a solution to the traffic bottle necks in the city, had never been taken into consideration while shaping the plans for the allied projects of Kochi Metro Rail.

"Earlier there was little effort to link the Vytilla Hub with the Kochi Metro project. Managing director of the hub, M Beena said that Tom Jose, the nodal officer for Kochi Metro project had asked her to see that the first phase of the mobility hub was in full swing.

The residents' associations in the city also oppose the move. "We don't have a clear picture of the new routes. Moreover, most of the roads identified for redirecting traffic is not in good shape," said president, Ernakulam district residents association, P Rangadasa Prabhu.

Meanwhile, the district administration clarified that the alternate traffic arrangement would be put to test only for a day. "We had held discussions with Kochi mayor, Tony Chamminy and he had agreed to the idea of a trial run," said district collector, Sheik Pareeth.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/c...ow/9714675.cms

[mohammedirshad06]

Though the owners of private buses plying on the Eloor-Kaloor and Aluva-Kaloor stretch have been on a collision course over the difference in running time for the buses running from Kalamassery to Kaloor, the authorities are of the opinion that the running time has been changed to reduce race among private buses and to bring down accidents involving private buses.

According to the new running time, private buses coming from Aluva have been given 20 minutes to reach Kalamassery and from Kalamassery to Kaloor, the buses have been given 25 minutes, considering the heavy traffic on this stretch. While the RTO has made changes in running time for private buses on the Aluva-Kaloor route, the timing of buses on the Eloor- Kaloor route remains unchanged.

Private buses from Eloor have been given 24 minutes to reach Kalamassery and from there 21 minutes to reach Kaloor. In fact, this difference in time for the buses on the same stretch has resulted in a contention between bus operators.

Aluva-Eloor region Bus Transporters Association president Muhammed Siddique said that there are differences of opinion among the bus owners in the running time, but we will sort it out as the change in running time is likely to reduce accidents and congestion on city roads.

Road Transport Officer T J Thomas said that the decision to reduce the running time on the Aluva-Kalamassery national highway stretch was taken years ago and we just decided to implement it from August 2. "We firmly believe that the new timings allotted to private buses on the Kalamassery-Kaloor stretch will reduce accidents. Buses coming from Aluva through the National Highway do not need 24 minutes as fixed earlier because the traffic is smooth along the newly-laid four-lane road," he said.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/c...ow/9714683.cms

[mohammedirshad06]

I don't know for what District administration is going for a trial run, when all other government agencies are against the move......

As the district administration is gearing up for a one-day traffic diversion trial run on August 27 to assess the traffic complications that may arise once the North flyover is demolished, the city traffic police and the RTO have expressed their displeasure over the exercise.

The police say the trial run will not be feasible without the existing infrastructure facilities are improved and the roads repaired.

City traffic assistant commissioner, Muhammed Rafeeq, said the exercise will lead to chaos as the roads identified for traffic diversion are in a pathetic condition and the vehicles will be able to move through them only at a snail's pace. "We are short of staff and if it rains heavily on these days, it will be a traffic nightmare in the city," he added.

Traffic police estimate that nearly 30,000 to 40,000 additional vehicles, including two-wheelers, will reach the city during the run up to Onam and Ramzan festivals.

According to road transport officer (RTO), T J Joseph, around five lakh vehicles, including two-wheelers, three-wheelers and light motor vehicles, ply on the city roads every day. The administration has chosen the wrong day to conduct the trial run, he said.

"People from rural areas and other neighbouring districts will be coming to the city in their vehicles for festival shopping. A major chunk of these vehicles will enter the city from Palarivattom and Edapally. The roads to the city from Edapally will be crowded. We have requested the administration to postpone the trial run. First, let the corporation repair the roads and fix appropriate sign boards. People coming from outer areas need to be properly guided," Joseph added.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/c...ow/9714703.cms

[bijuarr]

Originally Posted by keralite

score of autorickshaw's I found in idukki,thodupuzha has kl-7 registrations most of the time. this was on mid 90's. every vehicle broker agrees same year vehicle with "ernakulam registration" gets a little more price. that's why these people go through the trouble to get their vehicles registered KL-7.
I think now, this trend has come down in Thodupuzha municipality. but, still in rural Idukki, You can see KL-7-BR registered rickshaws.
may be, people from immediate neighbouring towns of Kochi will still prefer KL-7
OT: Anyone checked Tirur RTO statistics? KL-55 series reached "J" ,perhaps more higher numbers registered than Kozhikode,Malappuram RTOS. :o

Also please check KL-45(Irinjalakuda). Perhaps higher than (dont knw exactly) Thrissur.

[mohammedirshad06]

Travel woes of Fort Kochiites have been solved to some extent. The people are happy with the introduction of one more junkar in the Fort Kochi-Vypeen sector.

Though the bidder was mandated to operate two junkars, only one junkar was serving the people of the area so far. As one of the two boats developed snags, the people were under tremendous strain to travel in packed boats.

The introduction of the second junkar has come as a great relief, K J Antony, former councillor, said.

This is helpful to those who bank on their vehicles to reach the city at short intervals.

The second junkar has helped people transport their four-wheelers and two-wheelers to Vypeen from where they can reach the city without any road block, another resident said.

But the absence of the second boat is putting commuters in distress. There are reports that its capacity is often exceeded.

According to Stanley, president, Vadathazha Residents Association, the boats are overcrowded during peak hours. No one is bothered about the safety of the people. One cannot blame the public for overcrowding because everyone wants to reach his or her destination at the earliest.

He said that the second junkar was operated after much hue and cry. Local councillor Antony Kureethara said that he had given a memorandum to the Mayor drawing his attention to the need for operating the second boat which had remained suspended for the last few months.

A Corporation official entrusted with boat services confirmed that only one boat was operating on the route. He said that the boat was lying at the jetty and was being used as a spare boat.

People depend on the Vypeen-Fort Kochi boat route to reach Aroor, Alappuzha, Edakochi, Palluruthy and other areas.

According to K J Sohan, chairman, Town Planning Committee, efforts were being taken to introduce better facilities for people who commute between Fort Kochi and Vypeen. The Ro Ro junkar system is in the pipeline and would bring revolutionary changes, he said.

[maheshponneth]

Originally Posted by bijuarr

Also please check KL-45(Irinjalakuda). Perhaps higher than (dont knw exactly) Thrissur.

no, it is less than Thrissur.

[mohammedirshad06]

All Inter-state buses operated by KSRTC as well as other RTCs along with private operators will start/end their services from Vytilla Mobility Hub from Sept 5th onwards.

All intercity buses (Mofussil) services will also be shifted to VMH.

This was decided by Collector, after consulting with transportation authorities, as part of preliminary works for Metro.

All city bus services including Volvos, Thirukochi and Pvt city services must operate to city from VMH to offer connectivity from the VMH to all parts of the city.

The second trial run will be on Sept 12th after today's planned trial run was postponed due to hue and cries against it on eve of Onam shopping festival time.

The collector also issued order to the Corporation to repair all its roads before Sept 12th to arrange alternate transport. A few roads will be taken over by Kochi Metro Rail Corporation. This includes, Pullepady-Kathrikadavu, Kathrikadavu Underpass, Pearson Road, Vikshanam road, C.P Ummer Road etc.

The company also seeked for Govt permission to appoint traffic wardens to regulate traffic. The company will also erect sign boards, traffic signals and reflector cones to divert traffic to alternate roads.

The meeting also decided to develop Vytilla-Petta Road in urgent priority. A 30 meter road is planned and in few stretches 30 meters are not available. In such cases, maximum acquisition will be the policy.

[vu3nnn]

well, don't know how it would be possible.... the major obstacle for starting KSRTC busses from VMH is lack of petrol pump there. Since fuel cost less in Kochi, KSRTC refuel its long distance busses from Ernakulam KSRTC stand..... in any case inter state busses can easily take the container road without using the North / South ROB

again, at present the main bridge in North ROB is not for the exclusive use of heavy vehicles.... so why should it become the case after demolition?.... moreover even after the side bridges go, North ROB will have the same width as South ROB, through which all vehicles pass.

[mohammedirshad06]

Koothatukulam is going to get a Sub-depot of KSRTC, which will be opened to public today by Transport Minister. In next 6 months, it will be upgraded to a full fledged depot, with several buses operating out of the depot station.

A temporary workshop will also be opened in the depot, which will soon have its own workshop soon within 4 months.

http://www.manoramaonline.com/cgi-bi...=&villageName=

[keralite]

when piravom depot started, many are pessimistic about the need of that depot. now, piravom is operating a lot of services especially in rural areas connecting pala,highrange regions to ernakulam. hope koothattukulam depot also helps and not become liability for the debt ridden KSRTC.

[maheshponneth]

Originally Posted by vu3nnn

well, don't know how it would be possible.... the major obstacle for starting KSRTC busses from VMH is lack of petrol pump there. Since fuel cost less in Kochi, KSRTC refuel its long distance busses from Ernakulam KSRTC stand..... in any case inter state busses can easily take the container road without using the North / South ROB

again, at present the main bridge in North ROB is not for the exclusive use of heavy vehicles.... so why should it become the case after demolition?.... moreover even after the side bridges go, North ROB will have the same width as South ROB, through which all vehicles pass.

yes, ofcourse there exists the problem of petrol pump. But I will say one thing that this will avoid the unnecessary roaming of KSRTC superfast and fast services with in the major parts of city , which has heavy traffic block. Due to the traffic block, KSRTC gets delay around 1-2hrs daily. So this affects badly for the passengers who are coming from north like Thrissur and from Trivandrum side also. So this delay can be avoided to some extent due to the mobility hub.

[DileepKS]

Fuel station could be BUILT. Till then the buses could fuel from another station.

I am pretty sure that the fuel wasted by snaking through the city (and edakochi) would be several times over exceed the cost increase of filling from another station like Trichur or Alappuzha.

[mohammedirshad06]

Tourists might soon be able to relive the history of ancient port city Muziris.
The Kerala Tourism Department plans to build 14 boat jetties along the 50-km waterway in the Muziris Heritage Site.

Circular boat services based on different themes will soon ply between the boat jetties. The Kerala Shipping and Inland Navigation Corporation (KSINC) began the construction work of the jetties last week.

The government has allotted six months for the completion of five jetties under group ‘A’ and a year for the rest under group ‘B’.

“The jetties in group ‘A’ will be at North Paravoor, Kottapuram Market, Kottapuram Fort, Kottayil Kovilakam and Krishna Temple Paliam.

The group ‘B’ jetties will be at Pattanam, Kodungallur Reception Centre, Kottakavu Church, Thiruvenchikulam Temple, Pallipuram Fort, Sahodaran Ayyappan, Gothuruthu Cheria Palli, V K Rajan Memorial Park and Sree Narayana Park. The estimated cost for the project is `4.6 crore,” KSINC Managing Director Captain (Retd) C Unnikrishnan said. Boats will be the primary source of transportation within the heritage site area.

Kodungallur and North Paravoor will be the transport hubs of the circuit.

“The use of boats will ease the pressure on roads, parking lots etc., near the monuments. During the trip, official guides can inform tourists about the monuments and tell them their history,” the consultation draft of the Conservation Development Plan for Muziris Heritage Site stated.

Fourteen circuit tours based on different themes have been proposed. While one circuit will enable tourists visit the European monuments of the site, another one will be based on the temples.

Another circuit will be a tour to Kodungallur palaces. The survey for the project was done by the hydrographic wing in January.
But the project got stalled due to elections and the absence of a special officer.

“The waterways have to be dredged at many spots. There are proposals to build toilets and other amenities for people living on the banks,” E C Jude, senior technical officer of Hydrographic Survey Wing, North Paravoor, said.

http://ibnlive.in.com/news/a-boat-ri...94-60-122.html

[bijuarr]

The new Parasuram AC Air bus. A luxury to common man. Runnding between Paravur, a suburb of Kochi and Sulthanbathery as a Superfast. They replace their old AC bus and launched the new one on 22-08-2011 at Paravur.



The Proud Owner Rajasekharan Puthussery





Crew














Image Courtesy : jimmystrains @ Flickr

[mohammedirshad06]

The Southern Railway will run additional special train in the Ernakulam-Bangalore section which will leave Ernakulam junction at 5 pm on September 8.

Its pairing train will leave Bangalore at 6.50 pm on September 9. Meanwhile, the All-Kerala Railway Passengers Association has demanded special trains to different destinations to meet the Onam rush.

The Railways should operate trains to enable people reach home before Onam and help them return after the festival, Mathew Paul, association general secretary, said.

http://ibnlive.in.com/news/special-t...27-60-122.html

[mohammedirshad06]

Lobbying started for Kochi city Suburban and Commuter Rail

The Railways must renovate the now unused Ernakulam Railway Goods (ERG) station (the old railway station located behind the High Court of Kerala) so that it becomes a hub for passenger trains, speakers at a discussion organised here by the Kochi Pourasamity on Tuesday said.

The railway station was built in 1902 at the initiative of the then Maharaja of Kochi Rama Varma and has the necessary infrastructure, including a station complex and railway lines linking it with the Edapally station. The station building can be done up while the railway lines can either be repaired or replaced.

The Pourasamity's demand to revive the ERG station (and the underutilised Harbour Terminus railway station in Wellingdon Island) comes in the wake of the Ernakulam Junction and Town railway stations becoming extremely congested, because of inadequate space to lay new tracks and the Railway's delay in renovating the station buildings.

Inaugurating the discussion, former Union Minister of State for Railways O. Rajagopal said that the Railway Ministry had conducted a study on reviving the ERG station. “With many development projects in the pipeline, the city need mainline electric multiple unit (MEMU) trains (which can be based at the ERG station) linking the city with Thrissur, Palakkad, Alappuzha and Kottayam. Thus, people from nearby districts and the suburbs need not come to already-congested Kochi city in private vehicles,” he said.

While the metro rail is a system of mass rapid transport, and will take its time to be built, the 22 acres of land owned by the Railways in the ERG station (with all infrastructure in place) can easily be developed into a hub for trains without any land acquisition, he said.

Gandhian V. P. G. Marar spoke of the need to take up peaceful modes of agitations to renovate the station and railway lines and to bring the station to its past glory.

The chairman of the Ernakulam Old Railway Station Vikasana Samity M. R. Rajendran Nair presided. He said that the congestion on city roads, especially on either side of the North and South overbridges can be reduced if people are able to directly reach the western parts of the city (the ERG station is on the city's western end) in trains. “This would also decongest the city when the North bridge is demolished and vehicles are diverted through alternative roads. The station can be reached by rail from Edapally in 15 minutes whereas it takes more than double the time to reach by road. Apart from time, commuters save money and fuel.”

The under-utilised Harbour Terminus station too can be used to berth trains and service/repair them, said the Pourasamity's joint convener K. Ramamritham. It has space to house ticket- reservation counters also, he said.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/...cle2414963.ece

[binaiks]

Originally Posted by mohammedirshad06

Lobbying started for Kochi city Suburban and Commuter Rail

Wow! This is the best news! The Metro would take some time to come - but the railways can renovate the ERG Terminus and get trains running in much shorter time. The location of ERG makes it the best point to base suburban trains - however, trains towards ALLP/KTYM cannot start from here - unless they create somekind of facility for trains from ERG to run towards ERN.