The Kochi Water Metro is a state of the art environment friendly modern urban water transport project of Govt. of Kerala, being implemented by Kochi Metro Rail Ltd. The Kochi Water Metro is expected to connect the island people from 10 islands to the main land, thus enabling them to improve their socio economic status immensely with better jobs, trade, accessibility and better livelihood. The project is expected to give a boost in the tourism sector as well and result in an overall development of the areas. The Project aims to integrate this water transport system with other modes of transport including the metro system.
The Water Metro at Kochi consists of 78 boats, 38 jetties (called water metro terminals), located on 10 islands over 76 route kilometers in the back waters of Kochi. The project has a total value of INR 1136 crores and major part of which is financed KfW development bank under Indo-German financial cooperation with a long-term loan agreement. The State of the art air conditioned boats will provide safety, comfort, reliability, punctuality, and will be affordable to a large section of people just like metro rail system. The modern boat jetties (Water Metro Terminals) are specially designed as disable friendly with concrete floating pontoons, bringing the differently abled people into mainstream ensuring their transportation rights. The passenger counting system (PCS) installed in the terminals will ensure that at any given time the boat will not cross the maximum allowed number of passengers and prevent overcrowding.
The project was inaugurated by the Honorable Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi, on April 25, 2023. Currently, two routes are operational, providing a metro-like experience to the public and has been enthusiastically embraced by the public. The operation and management of the Water Metro is handled by Kochi Water Metro Limited (KWML), a joint venture with a 74% share from the Government of Kerala (GoK) and a 26% share from Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL).
Together, KMRL and KWML have developed extensive expertise in various areas, such as electric boat design and construction, inland water transportation solutions, green energy solutions tailored for the marine sector, infrastructure planning meeting Metro Rail standards, exceptional project management capabilities, and operational excellence. Leveraging these unique strengths, KMRL & KWML is eager to share the valuable knowledge as consultants, capable of providing specialized and unmatched consulting services for the implementation of similar systems in cities worldwide with navigable waterways.
We are prepared to offer a comprehensive range of consultancy services, including:
- Conducting feasibility studies and preparing Detailed Project Reports (DPR).
- Facilitating the land acquisition process in collaboration with the revenue department and Local Self-Government Departments (LSGDs).
- Conducting geological and topographic surveys, including LiDAR surveys.
- Performing hydrographic surveys and assessing navigation feasibility, including channel marking.
- Assisting in liaising with various government departments and statutory authorities in India.
- Providing design & construction monitoring and supervision for both civil and marine infrastructures.
- Designing and developing modern sea-going and inland vessels.
- Implementing Intelligent Transport Management Systems.
- Developing and implementing Passenger Control Systems and Automatic Fare Collection (AFC) gate systems for efficient operations.
- Offering operational support for marine projects and assisting with operational readiness for the operation team.
- Assisting with any other marine-related projects.
- Supervising the installation of EV charging stations.