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By Shibimol KG: Prime Minister will flag off the country’s first water metro service, connecting Kochi’s islands to the mainland, on Tuesday.
The one-of-its-kind project will provide safe, affordable, and pocket-friendly travel to people in and around Kochi and also boost tourism. In the first phase, the water metro will start sailing with eight electric-hybrid boats in two routes, Highcourt to Vypin and Vyttila to Kakkanad stretches. The single journey ticket fare for High Court to Vypin route has been pegged at Rs 20. The fare for Vyttila to the Kakkanad route will be Rs 30.
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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 pass with 12 trips will cost Rs 180 while the monthly trip passes valid for 30 days with 50 trips will cost Rs 600. The quarterly pass will cost Rs 1,500 and passengers will be able to avail 150 trips within a period of 90 days. Mobile QR tickets can be booked through the Kochi One app.
According to Loknath Behera, MD of Kochi Water Metro Limited and Kochi Metro Rail Ltd, the first route, High Court to Vypin will start operations from April 26 at 7 am and the second route, Vyttila to Kakkanad will start from April 27 at 7 am.
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He said by availing the water metro service, people can reach Vypin from High Court Water Metro Terminal in less than 20 minutes.
The estimated travel time from the Vyttila Water Metro terminal to Kakkanad terminal is around 25 minutes. Initially, the water metro service will start at 7 am and continue till 8 pm. During the peak hours, boats will operate in the High Court to Vypin route every 15 minutes.
Passengers can travel in both Kochi metro and water metro using the “Kochi 1” card. They can also book the tickets digitally, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan shared on Facebook.
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