No ‘central directive’ to change metro company name, clarifies KMRL

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KMRL said that no such central directive has been issued to any State so far changing name of metro company. File | Photo Credit: The Hindu

The Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL) has on Saturday (August 22, 2026) clarified that there is no ‘central directive’ behind the proposed change in name to Keralam Metro Rail Limited as reported by a section of the media.

KMRL said no central directive has been issued to any State so far to change the name of a metro company. ​It is a central guideline that if a State has multiple metro systems across various cities, there should be only one metro rail company.

“​Kochi Metro will continue under the name Kochi Metro, which is the brand. Considering other metro systems coming up in Kerala, a recommendation for a name change of the company was made to the State Government, as done in other States. It is the prerogative of the government to accept or reject the proposal. If rejected, no further action will be taken by KMRL, and the matter will end there,” the statement clarified.

The proposal had run into rough weather, attracting widespread criticism across the political spectrum. Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan on Friday (August 21) had said that the government has no plans to rename Kochi Metro Rail Ltd .

“The name change proposal was done unilaterally without holding consultations with the government. There have been no such discussions and the government has no plans to change the name,” he told media persons on the sidelines of a function.

The issue turned into a controversy after Hibi Eden, MP, wrote a letter to the Chief Minister stating that no decision on the name change should be taken without consensus and demanding that the existing name be retained. He described the initiative by KMRL managing director Loknath Behera as “strange and unacceptable”.

He said that there was no need for a premature name change in anticipation of future metro projects. “If demands for separate names linked to specific locations arise in the future, they could be considered then,” he added.

Mr. Behera had clarified that it was merely a proposal and that the prerogative to accept or reject it lay with the State government. He cited the precedents in States like Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra where the company name was changed when multiple metro projects came up.

“Since we are finalising a detailed project report for the proposed metro project in Thiruvananthapuram, and with the State having received its new name, Keralam, it was felt that a name change was timely,” Mr. Behera had said.

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