Kochi Metro to float on Korean technology

KOCHI: The Kochi Metro Rail will be operated using the most modern Korean technology -Maglev-, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) chairman E Sreedharan has said. He was briefing the media after meeting Union Minister of State for Food and Civil Supplies K V Thomas in New Delhi on Wednesday. Maglev (the shortened word for magnetic levitation) trains will float over a guideway using the basic principles of magnets to replace the old steel wheel and track trains.“The size of the coaches of the trains under this technology will be comparatively small and will be apt for a city like Kochi which had narrow roads. Another speciality of the technology is that it is cost-efficient and will help the DMRC in completing the work within three years,” Sreedharan said.He said that Metro authorities had held preliminary talks with South Korean subway line Incheon Metro for availing themselves of the Maglev technology for the Kochi Metro Rail project. “If both the sides could reach an agreement, Kochi project would get Maglev technology,” he added.The Maglev technology ensures a maximum speed of 581 km per hour for the train. “The rest of the rail-related works like compartments and signaling systems can be designed in the country,” Sreedharan said.He said that a detailed presentation about the technology would be made in front of the Chief Minister and other delegates from Kochi Corporation who would be in Delhi later this month.