Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday inaugurated the long-awaited Kochi metro project along with Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu and ‘Metro Man’ E Sreedharan among other dignitaries.
The Kochi metro rail was built at an approximate cost of Rs 5,181 crore, and will span 25 km covering 22 stations. The first phase of metro services, which was completed in a record time of 45 months, will see feeders services such as water ferries transporting the passengers to the metro stations.
Here is everything you need to know about Water Metro:
What is Water Metro?
With the launch of Kochi Metro, Kerala took its first step towards an integrated public transport system in the state, which will include feeder services such as boats. The first phase of the 76-km Water Metro Water Metro project, envisaged by Pinarayi Vijayan, is likely to become operational from 2019. It will make Kochi the first city with boat services connected to the metro network.
How many boat services will be employed?
The Water Metro will engage around 78 speed boats and 38 boat jetties, out of which 16 will be modernised. It aims to connect six neighbouring panchayats and three municipalities.
What will be the average speeds of the boats?
According to reports, the boats will run at an average speed of 8 knots, with top speed estimated to be around 12 knots. The distance between each headways across various routes is estimated to vary between 10 minutes to 20 minutes. The boats will have a passenger capacity of around 50 to 100 people, as per reports.
How much is the cost of the project?
The construction of Kochi Metro had an estimated cost of over Rs 800 crore, out of which the state government contributed around Rs 100 crore to the project, while the rest was given by German financial agency Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW) Development Bank.