Several sharp turns under the Kochi Metro corridor turn into death traps

A dangerous curve under the Kochi Metro pillar at Thripunithura. | Photo credit: H. VIBHU

A combination of alleged rash driving and several “unscientific” turns under the Kochi Metro route are once again causing accidents, especially of two-wheeler riders.

A young woman on a pillar lost her life at one such accident-prone bend near Champakkara Bridge late on Sunday night (August 23), while a youth traveling in the vehicle escaped injury after the two-wheeler rammed into the median under the metro viaduct on the Vyttila-Pettah stretch. Several fatal accidents have been reported at this bend over the past few years, while more than a dozen two-wheeler riders have died in accidents over the past decade at the sharp and even more accident-prone bend outside the Elamkulam Metro station on SA Road.

A dangerous curve under metro pillar number 825 on SA Road in Elamkulam. | Photo credit: H. VIBHU

VP Chandran, councilor representing Vyttila ward of Kochi Corporation, attributed the spate of accidents at the bend located just beyond the Champakkara bridge to drivers unfamiliar with the stretch and those indulging in rash driving, often losing control of their vehicles when facing two adjacent bends near metro pillar number 955, almost all of which motorists happened late at night. two-wheelers tend to over-speed on a four-lane section, if they applied the brake they would lose control of their vehicles.

Mr. Chandran said there is a need for the public works department (road wing) to install sufficient number of reflectors and signboards to warn motorists coming down the bridge about sudden and sharp turns at short intervals. He further demanded that the PWD take steps to widen the severely narrowed Vyttila-Kunnara park corridor to a four-lane width to avoid traffic jams. “Steps must also be taken to develop the section under the metro viaduct from the Vyttila mobility center to the park to overcome congestion at the exit of the interchange.”

Haphazard parking makes the stretch of road near metro pillar number 825 even more dangerous. | Photo credit: H. VIBHU

After visiting the accident-prone area in Champakkara on Monday (August 24), Mayor VK Minimol said she would convene a meeting of PWD officials, traffic police and Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL) to put measures in place to prevent further accidents there.

While looking for quick measures to increase visibility at bends under the metro corridor in the city, traffic police sources said the agencies (PWD and Kochi Corporation) that the roads themselves must take steps to extend reflectors and install signboards well in advance to warn motorists. “Members of the public must share images of vehicles parked on both sides of such bends with the police,” they said, while ensuring remedial action.

PWD version

A senior PWD official said the agency had installed indicator boards and retro-reflective object hazard markers to warn motorists of two curves in close succession. “Besides, ‘chevron boards’ have also been placed to guide motorists along the route. It remains to be seen whether painting rumble strips on the road will help avert accidents there. Rerouting the road would be a cumbersome process,” the official added.

Published – 28 Aug 2026 19:06 IST