Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Kochi Water Metro project, the country’s first water Metro service, on April 25, 2023. The Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL) is expected to officially announce the details of the Water Metro services, including a detailed schedule, later.
The water metro service includes electrically propelled hybrid ferries connecting the islands of Kochi to the mainland, which will benefit over a lakh residents in the islands. Kochi Water Metro connects 10 islands in and around the city.
The project was developed at a cost of Rs 1,136.83 crore, funded by the Kerala government and Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW), a German funding agency.
Nine hybrid boats built by the Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) for the launch of the Kochi metro project’s first phase on the High Court-Bolgatty-Vypeen route and Vytilla-Kakkanad route have completed rounds of trial runs months ago.
The Kochi Water Metro project includes 15 identified routes connecting 38 terminals across ten island communities and boatyards. The total length of the routes is about 76 km.
Earlier, KMRL had planned to launch the service only on the HC-Bolgatty-Vypeen route under the first phase of the metro project. However, it has now decided to operate the service on the Vyttila-Kakkanad route in the first phase.
The Water Metro project includes features similar to the Kochi metro rail service, including ticket counters, passenger entry and exit gates, safety measures and the boats, each costing Rs 7 crore. Passengers can use the Kochi 1 card to travel in Kochi Metro and Water Metro services. Passengers can book the tickets digitally.
See also: Kochi Metro route, map details, stations, and latest updates on Kochi water metro
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