All you need to know about Kochi Metro

Kochi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday inaugurated Kochi Metro at Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium. The PM also took a ride from Palarivattom station to Pathadippalam station. This is the first metro rail service in a Tier-II city.

Despite controversies, the metro-man E Sreedharan and his group successfully completed the work in record time. Spanning 25 km across 22 stations, the metro comes with a lot of specialties when it goes on track.Despite controversies, the metro-man E Sreedharan and his group successfully completed the work in record time. Spanning 25 km across 22 stations, the metro comes with a lot of specialties when it goes on track.

Despite controversies, the metro-man E Sreedharan and his group successfully completed the work in record time. Spanning 25 km across 22 stations, the 5181 crore Project comes with a lot of specialties when it goes on track.

Kochi metro is also the longest first phase metro operation in the country. While India has metro rail services in the cities of Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Jaipur, Gurgaon, Bengaluru and Chennai, new projects are underway in 11 cities. The project became the first metro in the country which connects rail, road and water transport facilities. It provides free Wi-Fi in the coaches as well as stations. Themed stations also attract the passengers.

Here's all you need to know about Kerala's first metro service:

• Kochi Metro is hailed as India's first integrated multi-mode transport system.

• The minimum fare to ride in the Kochi Metro is capped at Rs 10, while an end-to-end ride, from Aluva and Palarivattom or vice-versa costs Rs 40.

• KMRL in it approach towards a gender-balanced workforce has deployed several women to act as frontrunners in the operation, by collaborating with Kudumbashree, the women empowerment-oriented self-help group initiated by the State government. The service will be the first in India to have a workforce that comprises 80% women.

• The 13-km long stretch spans across Aluva and Palarivattom. The KMRL has also appointed as many as 23 transgenders for customer service operations and as ground staff. Kochi is the first metro and the first state-owned company in India to "officially" offer employment to a large number of transgenders. Twenty-three of the 60 transgender employees has been hired for operations ranging from ticketing to maintenance.

• The Kochi Metro is a confident step towards clean energy, and it is the first metro service in the country to use solar power to meet a quarter of its electricity requirements. The rooftops of all 23 stations have been set up with solar panels in order to generate power capable of generating up to 2.3 mega watt (MW). Plans are underway to meet as much as half of its electricity demands through solar power. Also, every sixth of the 4,000-odd metro pillars will have a vertical garden which will use recycled municipal waste. The metro is also offering bicycles for free at every station for passengers to roam around the city.

• Apart from a special provision for wheelchairs, coaches have earmarked specially for people with disabilities. For such people and pregnant women, the Kochi Metro comes fitted with cushioned seats. Also, there are multiple USB ports for commuters to charge their mobile phones on the go.

• Apart from a fleet of low-floor buses and autos plying as metro feeders, the KMRL has also roped in Kochi Water Metro, a water transport unit functioning as feeders for those living by the banks of the backwaters. The Rs 819 crore "water metro" project is in the works to connect the metro to the 10 islands of Kochi, with the first phase of the water corridor expected to be operational by the end of 2018.

• The Kochi Metro Rail Ltd (KMRL), since its inception, has focused on providing world-class amenities to the people of Kochi, apart from easing road traffic by providing end-to-end connectivity.