With the Cochin Shipyard set to roll out the first Water Metro ferry in December, Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL) has scheduled trial runs of the vessel in the 6-km-long Vyttila-Kakkanad route from January, as a prelude to introducing more ferries from March 2021.
Terminals are already under construction on the Vyttila Mobility Hub premises and at Kakkanad. They will also have commercial space, to garner non-ticketing revenue. “Private land will have to be acquired for constructing a terminal at Eroor, located midway between Vyttila and Kakkanad. This will be readied once ferries begin operating between the two terminals. All terminals will have floating pontoons, so that commuters can safely board or disembark from ferries, irrespective of tidal variations. Care will be taken to ensure that all infrastructure is disabled friendly as well,” said official sources.
Dredging is currently under way on the route to ensure optimal depth along the waterway. The possibility of more terminals on the route will be probed, depending on passenger patronage. The travel time has been envisaged as 20 minutes. The KMRL is keen to limit the number of terminals, since they are capital-intensive like metro-rail stations, having automatic gates and other amenities for passengers.
Rollout in batches
The ticket fare and frequency of services will be decided in the coming months. All 23 ferries in the first phase of Water Metro, each capable of accommodating 100 passengers and to be built by the Cochin Shipyard, will be introduced by the third quarter of 2021. Four more ferries will be rolled out in March, and subsequently in lots of four every two months. The number will increase to five for the last two batches.
Cheranallore route
After their launch on the Vyttila-Kakkanad route, ferries will begin operating on the High Court-Cheranallore/Eloor route, from March. Terminals in those routes are being readied. This will be followed by the High Court-Bolghatty Island-Vypeen route. Ferries to Fort Kochi will operate once the terminal on the beach front is readied.