In news– Prime Minister of India has inaugurated the first phase of the Kochi Water Metro, a first of its kind public boat service in India integrated with a metro rail network.
About Kochi Water Metro-
- It is not only the country’s first water metro and it is also the first-ever integrated water transport system of this size and scale in Asia.
- The Kochi Water Metro has been instituted at a cost of ₹1,136.83 crore.
- The project received funding from the Kerala government and a loan from KfW- a German state-owned investment and development bank.
- In the first phase, the water metro services will start on the High Court to Vypin and Vytilla to Kakkanad stretches.
- Frequent commuters can opt for weekly, monthly, and quarterly passes.
- Kochi One Card can be used to travel seamlessly on both Kochi Metro and Kochi Water Metro.
- One can obtain a ticket digitally through Kochi One App.
- KWM’s boats are being built by Cochin Shipyard. Once it is fully operational, 78 boats will ply between 38 terminals on 10 islands.
- It is expected to become fully operational by 2035 with a daily commuter-count of 1.5 lakh passengers.
- It is also described as possibly the largest electric boat metro transportation infrastructure being implemented in the world.
Kochi Water Metro boats-
- The boats are made of aluminum catamaran hulls and Fiber Reinforced Polymers (FRPs) superstructure.
- They are equipped with lithium titanate oxide batteries.
- These boats can be monitored and controlled from the state-of-the-art Operating Control Centre.
- In 2022 Kochi Water Metro won the prestigious Gussies Award (France) for the best commercial passenger electric boat in the world.
- Since the transport system uses renewable sources of energy it is sustainable.
- The boat has been designed in a unique way that ensures negligible wave activity and does not disturb aqua flora and fauna.
- In the first phase, 34,000 passengers can commute on the water metro.
Source: Livemint
