Kochi: The Kochi Water Metro, a first of its kind in India, has just completed two years.
Now, plans are afoot to introduce the public water transport system in other places, including Chilika and Cuttack in Odisha, reported PTI.
The Kochi Metro Rail Ltd (KMRL) revealed that the Union government is considering replicating Kochi’s alternate transport mode in 21 other locations across the country.
According to KMRL, the World Bank has also expressed interest in partnering with the Water Metro initiative in India.
Impressed by the success of the Kochi project, there have been inquiries from multiple international stakeholders. The Kochi Water Metro has ferried 40 lakh passengers in its first two years of operations.
As per the Central government’s directive, KMRL is conducting feasibility studies to implement the water metro system in 21 urban centres, across 11 states and two union territories.
“Preliminary steps have commenced in Prayagraj, Varanasi, Ayodhya, Patna, Ahmedabad, Surat, Jammu and Kashmir, Goa, Tezpur, Dibrugarh, Cuttack, Chilika, Kolkata, Dhubri, Mangaluru, Kollam, Alappuzha, Mumbai and Mumbai Vasai,” KMRL managing director Loknath Behera was quoted as saying.
“The first phase of feasibility assessments has been completed in Prayagraj, Varanasi, and Ayodhya,” KMRL said.
The feasibility studies, conducted by expert civil and marine engineers, assess water body quality and flow, population density, potential docking locations, traffic data, and propulsion viability.
The water transport system is expected to bring sustainability to public transport and help decongest roads at an affordable cost.
