Kochi Water Metro Has Carried 7.9 Million Passengers on Electric-Hybrid Boats Since April 2023, Linking Kochi's Mainland to Its Island Communities

Kochi Water Metro’s website showed 7,929,051 passengers on 21 October 2026, three and a half years after the Prime Minister dedicated the service to the nation on 25 April 2023. The Press Information Bureau (PIB), the central government’s news agency, describes Kochi as the first city in India to introduce a water metro: electric-hybrid boats that connect 10 islands with the mainland city.

The operator’s chief operating officer told a PIB media tour in February 2026 that the system runs 20 battery-operated boats from 12 terminals, serving commuters from around 10 surrounding islands. PIB describes the project as jointly implemented by the Government of Kerala and Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL).

Opening day: 6,559 passengers on one route

At Central Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram on 25 April 2023, the Prime Minister dedicated the project to the nation, according to PIB’s release. He called it a Made in India project, congratulated the Kochi shipyard and said he expected it to become a model for other states.

Public service began on 26 April on the High Court to Vypin route. Kochi Water Metro Limited said 6,559 passengers rode that day, when it was the only route running. The fare was ₹20, and boats left both terminals every 15 minutes between 7 am and 8 pm. A second route, Vyttila to Kakkanad, followed at ₹30 for a trip of about 25 minutes, with feeder buses and autos waiting at Kakkanad for the last stretch to Infopark.

By the first anniversary, KMRL’s statement counted 19,72,247 passengers (about 1.97 million), with fares of ₹20 to ₹40 and trip passes that cut a regular rider’s fare to as low as ₹10. At launch, Onmanorama reported a monthly pass of ₹600 for 50 journeys, and the Kochi One card and app work on both the water and rail metro.

One hundred passengers a boat, charged in 15 minutes

Cochin Shipyard builds the boats. Each carries 100 passengers, 50 seated and 50 standing, according to Onmanorama’s launch report, which gives a top speed of 8 knots (nautical miles per hour) on battery power and 10 knots on diesel. A full battery charge takes about 15 minutes.

Cochin Shipyard had been contracted for 23 vessels. When it handed over the 15th on 20 July 2024, Onmanorama reported that six more were expected by October 2024 and two in 2025. By September 2025 PTI counted 20 boats in service, and the PIB release of 2 February 2026 gives the same figure. Onmanorama reported in February 2026 that the shipyard was to hand over three remaining boats soon.

KfW, the German development bank that lent money for the project, says the full plan is 78 boats, mainly battery-powered catamarans, and estimates savings of up to 158,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases over 20 years.

The terminals and the islands they reach

The operator’s website lists terminal pages for Kakkanad, Vytilla, Vypin, High Court, South Chittoor, Eloor, Cheranalloor, Fort Kochi, Mattancherry and Willingdon Island. It describes Willingdon Island as the largest artificial island in India and South Chittoor as a river island. PTI’s September 2025 count of 10 working terminals also named Bolgatty and Mulavukad South, and listed Elamkulam where other reports say Eloor. PIB’s February 2026 figure is 12 terminals. Counts differ by date and by outlet.

PTI reported that the five routes then running cover about 24 km, with about 125 trips a day between 7:30 am and 9 pm. The plan on the operator’s About page is larger: 15 routes, 38 jetties and 78 boats, with more than 33,000 islanders expected to benefit. It gives the network length as 78 km in one place and 76.2 km in another. Onmanorama reported in February 2026 that terminal construction at Kadamakkudy and Paliyamthuruthu was complete and that a launch was targeted for April. tuput found no report confirming the opening.

KfW says the ferries, buses and the land metro are meant to share a common timetable and uniform fares. tuput’s explainer on India’s metro networks covers the rail side, and its piece on Alappuzha’s backwaters covers the waters further south in Kerala.

What it cost and who paid

Sources give different totals. Onmanorama put the project at ₹1,136.83 crore (about ₹11.4 billion) in April 2023, with money from the Kerala government and KfW. The operator’s About page gives “a total value of 819 crores”.

The German loan is also stated two ways. KfW’s current project page says EUR 110 million on behalf of Germany’s development ministry. The operator’s page says a long-term loan of 85 million under Indo-German Financial Cooperation, without a currency. Kochi is in Kerala, whose government and economy tuput profiles in its state guide.

An international honourable mention

The Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP) announced on 13 January 2026 that Kochi had received an Honorable Mention in its 2026 Sustainable Transport Award. Salvador in Brazil won, for expanding its bus rapid transit system. ITDP’s write-up says the Water Metro cuts one-hour road trips to about 20 minutes at nearly half the cost. It says the system has carried more than 4.5 million passengers since launch, which is lower than the 5 million milestone KMRL announced in September 2025, so tuput uses the operator’s counts.

The International Maritime Organization has also looked at the system. IndiaInfraHub, citing a Times of India report, wrote in August 2023 that Jose Mathiekal, the IMO’s director of partnerships and projects, rode the Vyttila to Kakkanad route and said the model could be copied across India and in other countries. PTI reported in September 2025, citing an official statement, that the World Bank had said it was willing to partner with the project.

Other cities have asked Kochi’s team to survey their rivers and lakes

KMRL officials told PIB in February 2026 that feasibility studies for similar systems have been done in 15 cities, including Srinagar, and that Mumbai is the next possible location. Greater Kashmir reported that the Inland Waterways Authority of India assigned Kochi Water Metro to survey Dal Lake, the Jhelum river and Nigeen Lake. It put the proposed Srinagar project at ₹900 crore, with five routes on Dal Lake and two on the Jhelum.

PIB Bhubaneswar said Kochi Water Metro had flagged a feasibility study along the Mahanadi riverfront in Cuttack. In November 2024 a Kochi team surveyed 10 km of the Tapi river in Surat, where the proposed first phase is 22 km.

Ridership against the plan, and the next stage

KMRL officials told PIB in February 2026 that average daily ridership is more than 6,000. tuput’s own division of the operator’s count of 7,929,051 by the 1,275 days from 25 April 2023 to 21 October 2026 gives about 6,200 a day. At launch the operator expected 34,000 passengers a day once the full network runs, Onmanorama reported.

The Centre for Public Policy Research, a Kochi think tank, wrote in April 2024 that weekday ridership was about 3,000, citing a Times of India report, and that the detailed project report’s base-year projection was 20,106 a day. It tied the gap to infrequent sailings, which it linked to delayed boat deliveries, and to weak last-mile links from terminals. KMRL’s statement for the first anniversary said tourists used the service more than daily commuters.

Surat’s city engineer said a decision on feasibility would follow the full report. The Kochi team’s own marine engineer said the Kochi system could not be directly implemented on the Tapi, because the river’s flow, level and current differ.