Delivery of Kochi Water Metro ferries to skip yet another deadline

Public transport in Kochi will soon get a boost from swift electric boats that offer modern amenities, with passengers boarding them from jetties that compete with Metro railway stations in infrastructure facilities.

A Rs 819-crore project of the Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL), the Kochi Water Metro will be an integrated water transport system connecting 10 islands that surround the mainland of Kochi city. A network of 15 routes that span 76 km will be served by a fleet of 78 fast, electrically propelled hybrid ferries plying to and from 38 jetties.

Trial runs on a 50-seater air-conditioned electric boat began in January 2022, with services expected to start in August this year. The project aims to provide the people living on the islands with a reliable means of water transport, with a regular headway, using canals that open into backwaters and the ocean. More than 1,00,000 islanders are expected to avail the services.