Kochi Metro Rail Ltd requires eight additional trains after completion of the Pink Line, taking the total fleet requirement to 33, the managing director Loknath Behera said. KMRL currently has 25 trains procured for Phase I, of which 18 are normally in operation while seven are rotated for scheduled maintenance. The proposed procurement remains on hold because of funding constraints.

With completion of Phase II, a 10.58 km elevated corridor from JLN Stadium to Infopark with 10 new stations, the existing fleet will be insufficient to maintain the desired service frequency while allowing trains to undergo maintenance. Behera indicated that optimum utilisation of Phase I and Phase II resources would require eight more trains to keep headways at seven to ten minutes. He warned that without additional trains the interval between services could rise to around 20 minutes for Phase II operations.

The requirement had been identified during the previous administration when KMRL proposed procuring the trains and was asked to seek assistance from the Centre. Behera noted that the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank is willing to provide funding but both the Union and state governments must agree.

In the absence of central assistance the state would have to bear the entire estimated cost of Rs 2.75 billion (bn), complicating the procurement timetable. KMRL could seek a share from the Centre because Kochi Metro is a fifty-fifty project, but discussions have yet to finalise the arrangement. Procurement timing is critical as ordered trains take two years to arrive, so an order placed now would likely see delivery in 2028, roughly one year after Phase II is expected to begin operations.

KMRL plans to complete the stretch to Infopark by June 2027, with the viaduct due by March and stations and traction systems by June to enable operations. The Phase II project is backed by a Rs 10.16 bn loan from AIIB and structural work is progressing. The trains are sourced from Alstom Transport India at its manufacturing unit in Sri City, Andhra Pradesh.