KOCHI: Kochi Water Metro witnessed its highest ridership with over 16,162 people traveling in its ferries on December 31. The Metro Rail also witnessed 1,13,152 ridership on the day. The decision of Kochi Water Metro and Metro Rail to extend their service till midnight to provide transportation facilities to the people celebrating New Year came as a relief to many.
The average daily ridership in Water Metro is around 6,000, and for Metro Rail, it is between 80,000 and 90,000. Kochi Metro trains operated till 1 am, while Water Metro ferries operated till 5 am on January 1.
According to Kochi Metro Rail Ltd officials, it is the highest ridership in Water Metro since its launch in April 2023.
“The service between High Court Junction and Vypeen was useful to those celebrating New Year on the city side,” said the officials.
After the Fort Kochi-Vypeen, Bolgatty, and Kakkanad Vytilla routes, the Water Metro will soon commence services between High Court Junction and South Chittoor in a couple of months.“Within six months, the Water Metro will operate on the Fort Kochi and South Chittoor routes. The trial run on the South Chittoor route is on,” said a KMRL official.
Work on the Cheranalloor and Eloor terminals is nearing completion. However, operation on these routes, including Fort Kochi, will commence after Cochin Shipyard delivers the next set of ferries. Currently, the Water Metro operates 12 boats across three existing routes. It is also expected that the Tripunithura Metro terminal will be open to the public in the coming months.
“Once the Metro Rail is extended up to Tripunithura from SN Junction, the average daily ridership is expected to reach 1 lakh,” the official said.