The first-ever 23 electric water metro boats worth Rs 747 crore for the Kochi Water Metro project was handed over to Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL) by Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL).

The 50 passengers water boat was called Muziris, and it had been located in Pattanam, 15 miles from Kochi.

Managing Director of KMRL, Loknath Behera and Madhumita Behera, his wife, were the chief guests at the ceremony. Other senior officials of CSL and KMRL were also present there.

Another batch of four more water boats might be launched soon. These boats will join the first ship to make trial runs in the Vyttila-Kakkanad tunnel, and the commercial operations will begin in April. The cost of each water boat is Rs 7.30 crore.

As a part of the Water Metro project, 23 water boats will be recommended for another 55 small boats, having a capacity of 25 passengers.

It is the first time an integrated, state-of-the-art integrated water transport system, including a large fleet, will run on batteries. Lithium Titanate Oxide (LTO) batteries are used in the boats. It is regarded as the latest and safest battery technology with quick charging technology, which can be charged in 10-15 minutes.

According to KMRL officials, these electric water boats will have a generator backup to take over the operation automatically in case of any battery system failure.

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