On 17 June, 2017, Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicated Kochi Metro to the nation.
The metro will operate from Aluva to Palarivattom and cover 13.26 km and eleven stations. So far, the union government has released over Rs 2,000 crore for Kochi Metro.
Kochi Metro Rail is a joint venture (50:50) of the government of India and the government of Kerala.
It is the first metro project to be commissioned with a modern signalling system called the ‘Communication Based Train Control Signalling system’.
The coaches reflect the “Make in India” vision. They have been built by Alstom of France, at their factory near Chennai, and have an Indian component of around 70 percent.
The Kochi Metro has also introduced an innovative PPP model for ticketing Indian banks. And financial institutions are being invited through a bidding process to make investment in an Automated Fare Collection system.
The selected bank will co-brand the Kochi Metro fare card and App. Kochi-I card is a multi-purpose pre-paid contactless RuPay card which can be used not only for the metro but for other modes of transport like buses, taxis and autos as well.