Kochi, Sep 8 (PTI) Kochi’s Water Metro, billed as the country’s first public boat service powered by electricity, is drawing interest from several states eager to replicate the model — but its chief says scaling up vessel production is the biggest hurdle.
Loknath Behera, the managing director of the Water Metro, said that several states were keen to replicate the network, which has been hailed as a model for sustainable urban transport.
“Kochi model can be replicated wherever there are navigable water bodies. The term ‘water bodies’ covers a wide range — in some places you have rivers, like in Varanasi, Patna and Kolkata; in Odisha there is the Chilika lake; and in Mumbai it is a hybrid, with both the sea and creek waters.
“So, we can’t actually 100 per cent replicate this (KWM) and there will be variations in the vessels,” Behera, a 1985-batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer, who retired as the Kerala Police chief in 2021, said.
During an interaction with reporters here, Behera, who is also the managing director of Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL), said that while the central government was “very keen” on replicating India’s first-of-its-kind sustainable transport system in different parts of the country, several states were even “more enthusiastic.” “For example, the transport minister of Goa visited last week, and he is now inviting us to carry out a feasibility study for a similar project there,” he said.
Behera said countries such as Malaysia have also expressed interest in the project.
“They have asked us to send a team to do reconnaissance. Malaysian MPs came here, travelled on the Kochi Metro and said this should be replicated. But we have to go through the MEA for this,” said Behera, who took over as managing director of Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL) in August 2021.
However, he asserted that for replicating the project at a national level, vessel production has to be ramped up manifold.
“Our biggest challenge is that we are not able to produce the number of vessels as per the requirement because it takes a lot of time to make these boats. Cochin shipyard, which is one of the biggest shipyards in the world… they are able to produce only five to six (boats) per year,” Behera told PTI.
“We (KWM) require around 70 boats, and we have reached only 20. So, it takes time. That’s one of the major blocks right now. It’s not easy to build these boats,” he added.
He said talks are underway with the Ministry of Shipping to bring together a consortium of shipyards and private players.
“If we go for boats for the entire country, we will need at least 500 boats in the next three to four years. But it is a difficult task unless all the people come together,” he said.
According to a statement issued by KMRL, which manages the water metro system, in April, the union government is considering replicating the KWM in 21 additional locations across the country.
It also said that the World Bank has expressed interest in partnering with the Water Metro initiative — launched on April 25, 2023.
The Kochi Water Metro has served more than four million passengers as of April 2025, reaching this milestone within its first two years of operation.
On the two recent water metro accidents, Behera said preventive measures are already in place.
“While the metro boats have advanced navigation systems, the other boats might not have these. Our work boat — Garuda — which acts like an ambulance has been hardly used… We have a very good safety record,” Behera said, adding that operations stop at 7.30 pm each day to avoid the returning fishing boats.
The two incidents occurred on May 31, 2025, and June 3, 2025. In the first incident, a metro boat grazed a Ro-Ro vessel at Vypeen due to strong undercurrents.
No one was injured in the incident.
In the second accident, a boat collided with a pontoon at the High Court terminal due to a software issue, resulting in minor injuries to four people.
Looking ahead, Behera said the rail metro and the water metro will be complementary.
“The water metro will become more popular; it will see more passengers and connect more destinations. We are doing a canal rejuvenation project, and some of the canals will be used for the water metro in the next four years,” he said.
The flagship water metro project of the Kerala government, set up at a cost of Rs 1,136.83 crore in the port city, will connect 10 islands using 78 electric boats and 38 terminals, once fully operational.
The Cochin Shipyard was contracted to build 23 air-conditioned catamaran vessels and 20 of these are operational. PTI RHL TGB ROH
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