Kerala, on Thursday, April 25, witnessed a major milestone as the first water metro in the country became operational from Kochi in the state. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the water metro at the boat terminal at the High Court junction in Kochi in the presence of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. The first journey of the water metro was from the High Court junction to Bolgattty.
Pinarayi said that it was a happy day for the state as the water metro was inaugurated and the foundation stone was laid for the Digital Science Park in Kochi. He said that for a state like Kerala which has rapidly urbanised, urban transport systems are essential. "In that sense, what has been dedicated to the country is a model project. This is the first water metro in the country as well as the first integrated water transport system in Asia," the CM said.
Earlier in the day, the Prime Minister inaugurated the state’s first Vande Bharat train from Thiruvananthapuram.
In the first phase the services of the water metro will be from the High Court - Vypin and from Vyttila - Kakkanad terminals. A total of 38 terminals have been set up for the metro and there will be 78 air-conditioned water metro boats.
The union government gave clearance for the water metro in October 2019. The water metro is aimed at connecting ten islands in Kochi through 15 routes, spanning a distance of 78 kilometres. It is being implemented by Kochi Metro Rail Limited and is expected to benefit more than 100,000 islanders.