The first set of coaches for the Kochi Metro is expected to arrive here in ten days, and Chief Minister Oommen Chandy will launch its test run on January 23. 
Federal minister for urban development, Venkaiah Naidu, flagged off trailers carrying the train set from the Alstom plant in Sri City, Andhra Pradesh yesterday, five months ahead of the scheduled delivery in May. 
Officials said the test run will be carried out in its Muttom yard on a 975-metre test track for a few days. They are hopeful of beginning the trial run on the first stretch of Aluva-Palarivattom next month. 
Though the track-laying was progressing at a fast pace, construction of the stations is to be fast-tracked with the monsoon season over. Naidu said the rolling stock delivered was the cheapest but fastest made in India so far. It also boasts of advanced features like hassle-free entry and exit and Wi-Fi on the go. 
The French train transport major will supply 24 more train sets, each containing three coaches with a capacity of 900 passengers, by April next year. The commercial services are expected to be launched in September. 
The first phase up to Petta will be completed next year. The authorities hope to extend the network to Thripunithura and Kakkanad in two to three years. 
Naidu offered all help to Kerala for its further expansion. 
The Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL) is a 50:50 joint-venture between the federal and state governments. 
After the flag off, the wrapped rolling stocks — each 22 metres long and two metres wide — on trailers headed for Kochi. The order for the rolling stock was placed in August 2014, and it was the first time that a metropolis train set was produced at Sri City. 
The 25 train sets will circulate on a 25-km elevated network with 22 stations. In an e-mailed statement, Alstom said the unique design of the metro has set a “new benchmark in urban mobility in India”. 
The front end features LED lights that are in the shape of elephant’s tusks. As it runs on a viaduct, it will light up the city at night. 
“It is a big achievement. These metro cars have been manufactured end-to-end by Alstom in India and are delivered ahead of schedule,” said Elias George, the KMRL managing director. 
Kochi is Alstom’s second metro rolling stock contract in India after Chennai. “With about 5,000 metro cars sold to over 20 cities, Alstom is one of the largest metro suppliers in the world,” said Bharat Salhotra its managing director in India. The KMRL says the commuters are ensured maximum comfort and convenience while structuring and designing of stations and coaches. 
Cusat station has its  theme as the history of a sea voyage in Kochi while Changampuzha Park will trace its cultural history. 
The entrance of Kalamassery station showcases raindrops and the withering leaves while the escalator introduces commuters to the gentle flow of falling water with its colour tone. 
Hornbill, the state bird of Kerala, appears on the ticket counter, and offers much “amusement” for the commuters throughout the journey. 
The KMRL is also creating the infrastructure to make public transport accessible from everywhere in the city — by rail, road, water and cycle tracks — as an integrated transportation solution.
It has already undertaken setting up of pedestrian walkways, reconstruction of dismantled roads, setting up signboards and “bringing back the old glory of MG Road” to ensure seamless public transportation. 
It plans a single ticketing system for all the metro routes from rail, water, bus and cycle to attract more passengers to public transportation to decongest the city and make it cleaner. It has also planted more than 2,000 trees along its way. 
Roads are being laid using bitumen emulsion and shellac premix.