KOCHI: What could be termed as a major milestone in the city’s suburban rail transport, the DEMU (diesel electric multiple unit) service will begin operations from June 21.
Announcing this at a press conference in Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday, power minister Aryadan Muhammad said that Union railway minister Suresh Prabhu would flag off the service from Ernakulam Junction railway station.
The timetable for the service has been finalised and the train will run between Anga-maly, Aluva, Ernakulam, Tripu-nithura and Piravom Road stations as a shuttle service. The service will start at 6 am and end at 8.30 pm.
A high-level meeting convened by the minister has also approved the alignment of the proposed rail over bridge at Vathuruthy. The project proposal had been put on the backburner because of objections from the Navy and Port Trust.
The Navy has finally given consent and the Port Trust has agreed to surrender their land for the ROB project. The Railways and state government will share the project cost equally.
“The DEMU service and realisation of the long-awaited Vathurthy ROB project will significantly improve the city’s transport sector by reducing the commuting time between the city and outskirts. Since, land acquisition is not required for the ROB, the project can materialise without much delay. The project assumes great significance as a suburban train service is proposed from the Harbour terminus,” said K.J. Sohan, corporation town planning committee chairman, who also attended the meeting.
Professor K.V. Thomas, railway divisional railway manager Sunil Bajpai, Cochin Port Trust chairman Paul Antony, Mayor Tony Chammany, MLAs Hibi Eden, Dominic Presentation also attended the meeting.
