With Kochi Water Metro ferries set to call at South Chittoor, Eloor, Cheranalloor and North Mulavukad terminals from March 14 (Thursday) evening, more islanders would get direct waterway connectivity to mainland Kochi.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will inaugurate the terminals virtually at a function scheduled to be held at 5.30 p.m. on the day at the Eloor terminal.
This would increase the total number of routes of the 13 ferries in operation from three to five and the number of terminals to nine. The first route is from the High Court to North Mulavukad through Bolghatty, while the second would be from South Chitoor to Cheranaloor via Eloor.
Ticket fare
The tickets would be priced between ₹20 and ₹40 depending on the distance for these AC ferries.
Once completed, the Water Metro project would see a total of 78 electric-hybrid ferries linking 38 terminals in the mainland and 10 islands around Kochi, say Kochi Water Metro Ltd (KWML) officials.
The daily patronage in the 13 ferries that now operate in three routes, linking five terminals and from Thursday evening to four more, is expected to increase to over 10,000. This could pick up once the school vacation sets in.
With the Cochin Shipyard handing over the 14th of the first batch of 23 ferries to the KWML for operation, the ferries would be extended to Fort Kochi where the ferry terminal is awaiting power connection.
A preliminary trial was done on the corridor soon after floating pontoons were installed at the terminal, informed sources said.
These pontoons will help commuters safely board the ferries irrespective of low or high tide.
