The monsoon may be receding in Kerala now, but it seems to be raining milestones for the Kochi Metro. Days after the Kochi Metro announced that it has been registering operating profits since April, the mass transport system on Thursday hit the milestone of carrying 1 lakh passengers on a single day for the first time.
According to statistics, the Kochi Metro hit the 1 lakh figure around 9pm on Thursday. By the time services ended at 11pm on Thursday, approximately 1, 01,000 people had travelled on the Kochi Metro. This is the first time that it is reaching the milestone after commencing operations in June 2017. The milestone comes just nine days after the launch of services on the Thykoodam Extension. The start of services to five new stations on the extension—Ernakulam South, Kadavanthra, Elamkulam, Vyttila and Thykoodam—has seen a surge in demand for the Kochi Metro. With the Thykoodam Extension, the Kochi Metro now covers a total of 21 stations.
Since the start of services on the Thykoodam Extension on September 3, ridership on the Kochi Metro has crossed the figure of 80,000 passengers in a single day a total of four times. Until this period, the average number of passengers hovered around the 40,000 mark. According to statistics provided by the Kochi Metro, since the start of services on the Thykoodam Extension, the total ridership has crossed the 7-lakh figure.
According to a report in Malayala Manorama, the second-highest ridership figure for the Kochi Metro was on September 7, when it carried 99,680 passengers. Interestingly, the Kochi Metro had carried 1,55,606 passengers on the first anniversary of its establishment in June 2018, but those were free rides.
Elaborating on future plans to mediapersons, Kochi Metro MD A.P.M. Mohammed Hanish said the mass transport system expects to carry approximately 60,000 passengers daily after September 19, when the discounted fares announced ahead of the start of services on Thykoodam Extension end. The Kochi Metro hopes to see operating profits increase by early next year when its network extends to Pettah, near Thripunithura.
The Kochi Metro is the quickest among suburban mass transport systems to hit an operating profit, achieving it in just two years. The Delhi Metro had taken four years to achieve an operational profit.