Kochi: Reiterating that the skybus project will not be a viable proposition for solving the traffic chaos on Kochi roads, E Sreedharan, managing director, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, says the best mode of mass transport for the city is a light rail transition system.

Sreedharan, the man behind the Konkan railway network, emphatically says the skybus will never take off. "Those who are demanding the skybus must realise that it is a non-existing technology; it is not implemented anywhere in the world."

The argument that skybus does not demand land acquisition and is cost-effective also holds no water, he adds. "The metro rail in Delhi has proved that it is economical and if it is operated underground, there will not arise the question of land acquisition. The best system for Kochi is a smaller version of what is being implemented in Delhi."

The metro rail project report for Kochi has been completed, identifying eight stations. The proposal has been submitted to the government.

"The skybus project is a visionary project and has been designed by the Konkan Railway after I left the corporation. But it has a lot of technical irregularities and is impossible to be implemented in the near future," he says.

About the Goan experiment, Sreedharan says it was just a model and far from the real concept of skybus. "Whatever they speak of skybus is far from reality. What you see are just pictures. It is not politicians who always stand in the way of development. Bureaucrats, officials and the technocrats, who don't keep pace with the world, also become stumbling blocks."

Punctuality, professional competence, integrity and team spirit are the cornerstones in succeeding in any activity, says Sreedharan, who has led many incredible projects to success and put India on the world map of infrastructure brilliance.