Kerala To Get Its 1st Water Metro And Vande Bharat Express
PM Narendra Modi is arriving in Kerala today to flag off India’s first Water Metro, Kerala’s 1st Vande Bharat Express along with several other projects.
India’s first water metro will be launched on April 25 in Kochi, Kerala. The project will connect 10 islands in and around the port city.
The water metro project will be flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to Kerala. The project is expected to bring a revolution in the water transport sector in the state and boost tourism.
The Kochi Water Metro project includes 78 electric boats and 38 terminals, with the first phase connecting High Court-Vypin and Vyttila-Kakkanad terminals.
The minimum ticket rate for a boat journey is ₹20 only, and regular passengers can purchase weekly and monthly passes.
Passengers can also travel on the Kochi Metro Rail and Kochi Water Metro using the Kochi One Card, which can be booked online through the Kochi One App.
The overall cost of the project is ₹1,137 crore. It is funded by the Government of Kerala and German firm KfW and manufactured by Cochin Shipyard Limited.
The water metro is expected to be eco-friendly, electrically propelled, and safe for differently-abled people. It will have air-conditioned boats with big windows that will offer an appealing view of the backwaters.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan stated that commuters will be able to reach Vypin Terminal from High Court Terminal in less than 20 minutes without getting stuck in traffic. Kakkanad can also be reached within 25 minutes from Vyttila via the Water Metro.
The boats will run from Lithium Titanate Spinel batteries, and the project is expected to be a significant boost to the water transport sector in the state.
PM Modi will launch Kerala’s first Vande Bharat Express train on the Thiruvananthapuram Central-Kasaragod route, covering 11 districts, and back from 25 April.
The train will operate daily, except Thursdays, with a total of 914 seats in the chair car and 86 seats in the executive chair car.
It will take eight hours and five minutes to travel from Thiruvananthapuram to Kasaragod, costing INR2,880 for an executive class ticket.
Bookings are open and regular operations will start on 26 April. The Rajdhani train covers the same distance in eight hours and 59 minutes, costing ₹2,770 for a first-class ticket.
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