KOCHI: Ending months of anxious wait, South Asia’s first Water Metro Service in Kochi will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Thiruvananthapuram on April 25. Kochi Metro Rail Ltd (KMRL), which is implementing the Water Metro service, was informed of the inauguration only late on Wednesday. However, there is no clarity yet on the official launch of the commercial operations by the Water Metro for the public.
“PM Modi will inaugurate the first route of the Water Metro between High Court Junction and Vypeen. Services on the Vytilla-Kakkanad route will also be launched in the coming days,” said an official. “However, KMRL is yet to receive an official schedule from the state government regarding the launch,” the official added.
At the programme in Thiruvananthapuram, the PM will launch the Water Metro service, along with other developmental projects, including the flagging off of Vande Bharat Express. “The commercial launch of Water Metro will take some more days to roll out,” said an official with Kochi Water Metro Ltd.
Meanwhile, Ernakulam MP Hibi Eden said that holding the launch of the Water Metro service in the capital city of the state is a disregard for the residents of Kochi. “The launch of the Kochi Water Metro was delayed as the state government was waiting for PM Modi to launch it. However, the launch of the service in Thiruvananthapuram is a disregard for Kochiites. Moreover, people’s representatives have not received any official notification regarding the launch,” said Eden. “The government should answer why it is keeping the launch so mysterious. Neither the implementing agency nor people’s representatives have been informed yet,” said Eden.
On the other hand, KMRL is preparing for the online launch of the service. Cochin Shipyard Ltd delivered nine hybrid boats for the launch of the first phase of the project on the High Court-Vypeen, High Court-Bolgatty, and Vytilla-Kakkanad routes. The agency has completed several rounds of trial runs on the route.
WATER METRO FARES
The minimum fare is Rs 20 and the maximum is Rs 40 for a route. For the High Court to Vypeen route, the fare will be Rs 20. During peak hours, the service will be made available in a gap of 15 minutes,” the official added.
The Rs 747-crore Water Metro Project includes a total of 36 terminals with 15 identified routes connecting 10 islands along a network that spans 78 km, as claimed by KMRL.
As per an RTI enquiry, once fully operational, the Water Metro expects a daily passenger ridership of 34,832. “According to the old detailed project report of Water Metro, it was estimated that there would be 1 lakh passengers once the service becomes fully functional. However, in the RTI reply, the figures came down to 34,832, which is one-third of the passengers estimated earlier. For this footfall, the Water Metro does not need as many as 23 boats, which cost Rs 7 crore each,” said Adv. Ebenezer Chullikkat, a representative of Greater Cochin Development Watch.