India’s first “water metro” was dedicated to the nation by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Cochin in Kerala on Tuesday. Modi during his two days’ visit to Kerala also flagged off the State’s first Vande Bharat Express Train among a host of various development projects, with the major attraction being the Kochi Water Metro.
Addressing the gathering, Modi said the Kochi Water Metro is a “Made in India” project and congratulated the Kochi Shipyard for the development of ports for the same. He stated that the Kochi Water Metro will make modern and cheap means of transport accessible for the people living in the nearing islets of Kochi, while also providing intermodal connectivity between the bus terminal and the metro network.
Kochi Water Metro officials said that travel time to reach intra islands will be reduced and save both time and money. As of now one complete circle has to be taken by road but when fully operational the Kochi Water Metro will shorten the distance and offer seamless travel as Kochi City Metro tickets had been synchronised.
A joint venture by the Government of Kerala and Kochi Metro Rail Ltd at a cost of `747 crore, the Water Metro would link 10 islands in the suburbs of Kochi with hybrid boats that ply on battery as well as diesel. Each of these air-conditioned boats could accommodate 100 passengers and are eco-friendly. When it becomes fully operational, the 78 boats traversing the 76 km distance would bring down carbon dioxide emission by 44,000 tonnes per year.
The Prime Minister said the Kochi Water Metro will benefit Kerala’s famous backwaters tourism, apart from easing traffic congestion in the city and become a model for the other States.
Later, Modi laid the foundation stones of and dedicated projects worth more than `3,200 crore at Thiruvananthapuram Central Stadium and inaugurated the Digital Science Park.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Governor Arif Mohammed Khan, Union Minister for Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw, Railway MOS V Muraleedharan, MP from Thiruvananthapuram Shashi Tharoor and Ministers from the Government of Kerala were present on the occasion, among others.
Addressing the gathering, Modi greeted the people for Vishu and congratulated the citizens of Kerala for the unveiling of various projects related to the development and connectivity in the State, including the Vande Bharat Express, Kochi’s first Water Metro and several Railway developments.
These include the elevation of major railway stations Thiruvananthapuram, Ernakulam, Kozhikode, Kannur, Thrissur to global standards. “The 2009-2014 period saw the Centre allocating just Rs 370 crore for railway projects in Kerala. But since 2014, there has been manifold increase in the investments made by in Kerala by the Railway Ministry. Vande Bharat Express is a small beginning and we are going to see Kerala making a massive leap forward in infrastructure development,” said Modi.
He also laid the foundation stone for increasing the sectional speed between Thiruvananthapuram and Shornur Junction which would gradually increase the speed of trains in the State.
Commenting on the education and awareness level of Kerala, the Prime Minister said that the hard work and politeness of the people of Kerala give them a unique identity. He further added that the Government focuses on cooperative federalism and considers the development of States as the development of the country. “We are working with a service-oriented approach. The nation can progress at a faster rate only if Kerala progresses”, he remarked.
Modi said one of the reasons for the growing stature of the country is due to the outreach efforts of the Central Government which has benefited Keralites who live abroad. India’s growing might is helping the Indian Diaspora greatly, he said.
He said that in the last nine years, work on connectivity infrastructure has been undertaken at an unprecedented speed and scale and informed that in this year’s budget also, it is proposed to spend more than Rs 10 lakh crore on infrastructure.
“The public transport and logistics sector is being completely transformed in the country. We are moving towards the golden age of Indian Railways”, he said and remarked that the average rail budget before 2014 has increased five-fold now.
“Vande Bharat Express is the identity of aspirational India”, Modi said as he highlighted the transforming rail network in India which makes it possible to run such semi-high speed trains with ease.
The Prime Minister said that all the Vande Bharat trains, so far are connecting places of cultural, spiritual and tourism importance.
“Kerala’s first Vande Bharat train will link North Kerala with South Kerala. The train will ease travel to places of pilgrimage like Kollam, Kottayam, Ernakulam, Thrissur and Kannur”, he said.
Though built to travel at an average speed of 180 km per hour, the State’s Vande Bharat Express could be able to traverse through Kerala only at a speed of 80 to 90 km per hour because of the curves in the track and manual signalling system.
Railway and Information Technology Minister Ashwin Vaishnav informed in his address that “We are in the process of straightening the curves and installing world-class signal systems and within the next 36 months we are sure that the stretch between Thruvananthapuram and Kasaragod could be covered in 5 hours 30 minutes.”
Modi elaborated that the effort is to provide ‘Made in India’ solutions as per local needs with regard to infrastructure. He listed solutions like a semi-hybrid train, Regional Rapid Transport System, Ro-Ro ferry, and ropeway to illustrate situation-specific solutions for connectivity.
He also underscored the indigenous origins of ‘Made in India’ in Vande Bharat and Metro coaches. He also mentioned projects like Metro-Lite and urban ropeways in smaller cities.
Modi reiterated that along with physical connectivity, digital connectivity, too, is the country’s priority and projects like the Digital Science Park will give a fillip to Digital India. He highlighted global appreciation for India’s digital system. “Indigenously developed 5G will create new opportunities in the sector”, he said.
Referring to the recent G20 meet in Kumarakom, the Prime Minister said that such events give Kerala more global exposure.