Kochi (Kerala) [India], April 26 : The Kochi Water Metro, which was formally inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, began its commercial operation on Wednesday.
The boats started operating from the High Court Water Metro Terminal and Vyppin Water Metro Terminal at 7 am. The ticket rate for this route is Rs 20. During peak hours, there will be a boat service every 15 minutes on the High Court- Vypin route. The boat services will continue till 8 pm.
Loknath Behera, MD of Kochi Water Metro Limited (KWML) took the first boat service with Vypin islanders 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 Annapoor 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.
The country's first Water Metro service will provide safe, affordable and pocket-friendly travel for people in and around Kochi and also tourists from across the world.
Initially, the Water Metro will start sailing with 8 electric-hybrid boats in two routes that are, Highcourt- Vypin and Vyttila- Kakkanad stretches.
The single journey ticket fare for the High Court - Vypin route will be Rs 20. The fare for Vyttila- Kakkanad route will be Rs 30.
Other than the single-journey tickets, Kochi Water Metro will also have weekly, monthly and quarterly passes. As an inaugural offer, commuters can enjoy discounts for their purchase of various trip passes.
A weekly trip passes with 12 trips is priced at Rs 180 while the monthly trip passes are valid for 30 days having 50 trips would cost Rs 600. The quarterly pass is priced at Rs 1500 and passengers would be able to avail of 150 trips within a period of 90 days.
People would also be able to use Kochi One Card for travelling in Kochi Water Metro. Mobile QR tickets could be booked through Kochi One app.
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