Officials of the Kochi Metro Rail, the only metro in operation in Kerala, have identified a slight slant in the track above pillar number 347, near Pathadipalam, following which a speed restriction has been imposed on trains while passing the place. The slope was detected during a routine examination of the track earlier this month.
The speed of the trains passing through the point has been reduced from 35 km per hour to 20 km per hour. Officials have identified that this has occurred due to a settlement crack. In a press statement issued by the operators, it has been said that this could possibly be on account of the likely changes in the properties of subsoil and bearing strata, marginally affecting the substructure, and causing the misalignment in track.
According to a report on The New Indian Express, a Kochi Metro official said that the observed flaw was not critical. “The slant was identified during a routine inspection of the corridor. An expert study has already been launched to identify the cause, and to plan preventive measures. It will not affect the metro operations. An expert agency for geotechnical and geophysical investigation has been engaged,” the officer said.
The operators have sought the assistance of Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) who were the implementing agency earlier and many of the officials who were then part of DMRC and presently working with the Kochi Metro Rail Corporation. The operators have been able to go forward with their plans to find a solution for it.
It was Metroman E Sreedharan who oversaw the Kochi Metro Rail when Oommen Chandy (2011-2016) headed the state and it was Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan who inaugurated it in June 2017.
(With IANS inputs)