Tourists and others to Fort Kochi will be able to commute from the city to the heritage locale in Water Metro ferries from Sunday without being caught in traffic snarls on narrow roads and bridges, thanks to Kochi Water Metro which will offer its service in the corridor from the day.
Kochi Water Metro Limited (KWML) has decided to operate its electric hybrid ferries from the High Court terminal to the newly completed Fort Kochi terminal built near the famed walkway of the beach from Sunday. The decision comes in the wake of the Cochin Shipyard handing over the 14th of the 23 ferries for which Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL) had placed orders for. The boat completed trial run in the corridor, while ticketing and allied infrastructure have been readied to enable the ferry service, sources said.
A ferry will operate in the corridor every 20 to 30 minutes, while the fare is ₹40 per person. Apart from regular commuters, the service will considerably benefit visitors to the city and those on vacation who are keen to visit Fort Kochi, they added.
Apart from the inadequate number of ferries, KWML had, till March, been citing delay in getting statutory clearances for the Fort Kochi terminal as among the reasons for not extending the operation of its ferries to the popular tourism locale where the row of a dozen Chinese fishing nets, colonial architecture, and homestays are among the major attractions. Mattancherry heritage town, where a ferry terminal is under construction, is located a stone’s throw away.
A total of 19.31 lakh passengers have so far travelled in the 13 ferries of the agency ever since the Water Metro project was launched a year ago. KWML had set a target of 10,000 commuters per day, with the available fleet of ferries.
