KOCHI: The Pachalam-Pottakuzhi-Elamakkara route is one of the main alternatives proposed for traffic diversion during the demolition of the second bay of the North rail overbridge (RoB). But in the absence of the proposed Pachalam Railway overbridge and the route already witnessing kilometres of traffic block, serious questions are being raised on the viability of the Pachalam-Pottakuzhi-Elamakkara route as an alternative diversion. The railway crossing at Pachalam has been a cause of concern for decades now. The steady increase in the number of trains has meant that long waits at the level crossing and a corresponding trail of traffic are a regular affair. “In an hour, at least 15 trains pass through the gate. The gate closes 106 times for the Express trains alone. Apart from this there are local goods trains, local trains and so on. But this is not all. The North railway station is very close to the gate and this station has only about four tracks. So whenever space constraints arise trains stops right at Pachalam railway track and the gate will remain closed till the train moves. By then you will have kilometres of vehicles on both sides,” says Jijo, a resident of Pachalam.The Pachalam RoB has already received sanction from the Railways. A fund of `162 crore has been assigned for the RoB under the JNNURM for the Goshree-Mamangalam Road which will include the Pachalam RoB. “The Pachalam railway cross is the major road block on the Goshree-Mamangalam Road. The road will bring down the traffic in the city by 50 percent. With this road, the traffic from Vyttila, Fort Kochi, Vypeen, Vallarpadom and all the other areas, can be diverted to the Edappally area. They can all directly move out of the city via the High Court road without touching the city or the North overbridge,” says advocate E M Sunil Kumar, former chairman of the Town Planning Committee. But in the absence of alternative routes and the RoB showing no signs of materialising, Pachalam still seems the only alternative option to divert the traffic. “We cannot wait for options which are not there. We look at whatever resources are available to us at a point of time and then chart out a plan accordingly. There are some 50 overbridges which are proposed in different parts of Kerala. It is not possible to wait for the completion of each to begin a project,” says Kochi Metro Rail Ltd MD Tom Jose. So by the looks of it, there just does not seem to be any escape route for fellow Kochiites, from the long wait at the Pachalam gate.
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