On Wednesday, the Kochi Water Metro, which was formally inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, began commercial operations.
At 7 a.m., the boats began operating from the High Court Water Metro Terminal and the Vyppin Water Metro Terminal. The fare for this route is Rs 20. During peak hours, the High Court-Vypin route will have a boat service every 15 minutes. The boat service will be available until 8 p.m. Loknath Behera, MD of Kochi Water Metro Limited (KWML), launched the first boat service from the Vypin water metro terminal.
Behera said that the operations would be beneficial to the people and in the future, the frequency and the number of boats will also be increased.
“It will be all good today. There is no precedence. If there is any problem, we have to solve it ourselves. The operations will be very beneficial to the islanders. We will increase the frequency and number of boats. More boats will be placed into service,” said Loknath Behera.
The Director of Finance, Kochi Metro Rail Limited Annapoorani S said that initially 76 kilometres will be covered by the Kochi Water Metro.
“Now the Kochi Metro employees including me, feel very happy because a new service has been given by Kochi Metro. All people who have enjoyed the Kochi Metro ride will start enjoying the Kochi Water Metro ride. The service will start in the morning at 7’o clock and ends at 8’o clock. You will get service every 15 minutes during peak hours. I think people will enjoy the benefits in the future. From today, everybody is welcome to the operations. We are all happy to welcome all. 76 kilometres will be covered by the Kochi Water Metro. Initially, High Court to Vypin and the vice versa route will be operated from today.
Tomorrow, there will be another route from Vyttila to Kakkanad and vice versa will be operated. There are 9 boats in the service,” he said.
A commuter said that the water metro is unlike the regular public transport system.
“I am very happy. It is a pleasure to have the opportunity to travel like this. The views outside are something special. This is not like the regular public transport system. The boat is very clean. It has easy access and a ticketing system. It is possible to travel in air conditions in this humidity. Beautiful views from the outside. It will bring a big change in the map of Kochi. There is no doubt that people will use the Water Metro on a daily basis. I feel more people will rely on the water metro. This will take a quick time to travel from Vypin to Ernakulam. They can be completed more easily than any other public transport system,” said Hariraj a commuter.
Kochi Water Metro: Country’s first water metro
The country’s first Water Metro service will provide safe, affordable, and cost-effective transportation for residents of Kochi as well as tourists from around the world.
The Water Metro will initially operate with eight electric-hybrid boats on two routes: Highcourt-Vypin and Vyttila-Kakkanad. The single-trip fare for the High Court-Vypin route will be Rs 20. The fare for the Vyttila-Kakkanad route is Rs 30.
Kochi Water Metro will offer weekly, monthly, and quarterly passes in addition to single-journey tickets. As an introductory offer, commuters can get discounts on various trip passes.
A weekly trip pass with 12 trips costs Rs 180, while a monthly trip pass valid for 30 days with 50 trips costs Rs 600. The quarterly pass costs Rs 1500 and allows passengers to take 150 trips over the course of 90 days. People will be able to use the Kochi One Card to travel on the Kochi Water Metro as well. The Kochi One app allowed users to book mobile QR tickets.
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