Kochi Water Metro: Know all about India's first water metro project

Kerala is all set to get its first water metro system on 25th April 2023. The Prime Minister Narendra Modi will flag off Country's first water metro in Kochi district of Kerala.

The Kochi Water Metro is a unique urban mass transit system with the same experience and ease of travel as that of the conventional metro system. It is very useful in cities like Kochi. As a first phase of the project, service would begin soon from High Court to Vypin terminals to Vyttila to Kakkanad terminals. The commuters will be able to reach Vypin Terminal from High Court Terminal in less than 20 minutes without getting stuck in traffic. Kakkanad can be reached within 25 minutes from Vyttila via Water Metro.

The minimum ticket rate for a boat journey is Rs 20. There are weekly and monthly passes for regular passengers. One can travel in Kochi Metro Rail and Kochi Water Metro using Kochi One Card. Tickets can be booked digitally through Kochi One App.

The cost-effective and secure journey in air-conditioned boats would help people to reach their respective destinations without being stuck in traffic snarls. Passengers can travel in both Kochi metro and water metro using the “Kochi 1” card. They can also book the tickets digitally.

Kochi Water Metro with 78 eco-friendly boats and 38 terminals cost Rs 1,136.83 crores, funded by Government of Kerala and German funding agency KfW (Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau).

The Kochi Water Metro will connect to 10 islands along a network of routes that span 78 km with a fleet of 78 fast, electrically propelled hybrid ferries plying to 38 jetties. Each boat, costing Rs 7 crore, can carry 100 passengers with seating capacity for 50. Boats, which have aluminium-catamaran hulls, will have a ramp facility for the physically-handicapped, feeding chamber for mothers and mobile recharge facilities. All boat jetties will have charging facilities for boats, which will run at a speed of eight nautical miles per hour.

The project intends to introduce modern, energy-efficient, environment friendly and safe boats with low wake and draft characteristics at a high frequency to increase ridership.

Manufactured by Cochin Shipyard Limited, the Kochi Water Metro project will start with eight electric hybrid boats. The Kochi Water Metro (electric boats) will run from Lithium Titanite Spinel batteries.

The Kochi Water Metro system will be operated by a special purpose vehicle (SPV) formed in the name of Kochi Water Metro Limited (KWML).

Once the project is fully operational, the water metro, with 78 boats and 38 terminals, will cover 76 kms in Kochi backwaters, covering six panchayats and three municipalities.