PM Modi inaugurates India’s first water metro in Kerala’s Kochi

KOCHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday inaugurated India’s first Water Metro that connects 10 islands around Kochi through battery-operated electric hybrid boats for seamless connectivity with the city. Kochi Water Metro, one of its kind project in the world connecting Kochi’s islands to the mainland is ready to start the service.

The country’s first Water Metro service will provide safe, affordable and pocket-friendly travel for people in and around Kochi and also tourists from across the world.

“It’s a different boat. Being an electric boat for the first time in India, we have many challenges. But we have received training at Indian Maritime University. So no problem. 12 trips per boat during peak time. It takes 20 minutes from one terminal to another. We can carry 96 passengers and 4 crew members so that 100 people,” Jayes, Boat master said.

Initially, Water Metro will start sailing with 8 electric-hybrid boats in two routes that are, Highcourt- Vypin and Vyttila- Kakkanad stretches. The single journey ticket fare for the High Court – Vypin route will be Rs 20. The fare for Vyttila- Kakkanad route will be Rs 30.

Other than the single-journey tickets, Kochi Water Metro will also have weekly, monthly and quarterly passes. As an inaugural offer, commuters can enjoy discounts for their purchase of various trip passes.

A weekly trip passes with 12 trips is priced at Rs 180 while the monthly trip passes are valid for 30 days having 50 trips would cost Rs 600. The quarterly pass is priced at Rs 1500 and passengers would be able to avail of 150 trips within a period of 90 days.

People would also be able to use Kochi One Card for travelling in Kochi Water Metro. Mobile QR tickets could be booked through Kochi One app. Meanwhile, Kochi Water Metro is set to start to sail with specially-abled children today shortly.

Earlier in the day, PM Modi flagged off Kerala’s first Vande Bharat Express which will run from Thiruvananthapuram to Kasargod. Apart from Kochi Water Metro, rail electrification of the Dindigul-Palani-Palakkad section will also be inaugurated by the Prime Minister.

During the event, Prime Minister will also lay the foundation of various rail projects including the redevelopment of Thiruvananthapuram, Kozhikode, and Varkala Sivagiri railway stations; the comprehensive development of Thiruvananthapuram area including Nemon and Kochuveli and increasing of sectional speed of Thiruvananthapuram-Shoranur section.