Kerala to build ₹2,773-cr light metro line in Kozhikode

The Kozhikode urban Light Rail Transit (LRT) system has planned to build a 13.3 km long Light Metro Phase-1 rail line with 14 stations at Kozhikode, Kerala at an investment of ₹2,773 crore. The project will be executed by Kerala Rapid Transit Corporation Limited (KRTL), a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) of the state government.

In January 2016, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) was appointed as the interim consultant, but it quit the project in 2018 due to slow progress. In 2017, the project was put on hold due to its high cost and low ridership projections which were not in line with the Government of India’s new Metro Rail Policy. A revised DPR prepared by the DMRC was approved by KRTL’s board in October 2020 and by the state government in February 2021. The Phase 1 Route Line 1 will be elevated from Meenchanda to Kozhikode Medical College and will have an elevated depot at the Medical College. The light metro line will have stations at Meenchanda, Vattakkinar, Panniyankara, Kallayi, Pushpa, Kozhikode Railway Station, Palayam, Mananchira, KSRTC, New Bus Stand, Kottuli, Thondayad, Chevayur and Medical College.