Kerala Transport System

Kerala features a highly integrated multi-modal transport network comprising extensive road transport, rail transport, water transport and air transport. Managed by the Department of Transport, Kerala Government, this system provides seamless connectivity across a unique geography characterized by a low rural-urban divide.

1. Water Transport in Kerala

The length of the inland waterways in the state is 1687 km. The main route is the West Coast Canal. It stretches for 590 km from Hosdurg in the north to Poovar in Thiruvananthapuram. The Western Canal system has three parts. These are 348 km from Nileshwaram to Kottapuram , 168 km from Kottapuram to Kollam , and 74 km from Kollam to Kovalam . The State Water Transport Department provides travel facilities to 80,000 passengers daily . The Kerala Shipping and Inland Navigation Corporation was formed in 1989. There are a total of five national waterways in Kerala. 

■ National Waterway - 3 ( Kollam - Kozhikode , 365 km)

■ National Waterway - 8 ( Alappuzha - Changanassery , 28 km)

■ National Waterway - 9 ( Alappuzha - Kottayam , 38 km)

■ National Waterway - 13 ( Poovar - Iraimmanthurai (AVM Canal , Tamil Nadu) , 11 km)

■ National Waterway - 59 ( Kottayam - Vaikom , 28 km)

West Coast Canal

It is the first National Waterway built in india. The West Coast Canal spans a total length of 560 Km starting from Kovalam to Hosdurg. The West Coast Canal (National Waterway No 3) runs between Kottapuram and Kollam.

Cochin Port

The modern port of Kochi was inaugurated on 26 May 1928. The construction was supervised by British port engineer Robert Bristow. The cost of the project, which cost Rs. 2 crore, was jointly borne by the governments of Travancore , Cochin and Madras. The Willington Island was formed by the soil removed from here using a dredger to increase the depth. The Cochin Port Trust was formed in 1964. The first chairman of the Port Trust was P.R. Subramanian. The first container ship to arrive in India was in Kochi. The ' President Tyler ' arrived at the port in 1973 .

Vizhinjam International Seaport

One of the largest development projects in our country. Once completed, the project can be described as the gateway to Asia. The construction area of ​​the project, which will be completed in three phases, is located on the Vizhinjam-Mullur coast, which is only 23 km from the capital city. It is just 10 km from the Balaramapuram National Highway. A modern port will be built here that can accommodate any type of ship built in the world now and in the future. Its specialty is that it is an eco-friendly port. The port will have a berth at a distance of two km and a quay at a distance of 3.2 km. The total project cost is Rs 7250 crore. The government will provide the infrastructure and land. The rest will be implemented as a PPP. 60 percent of the construction company and the remaining 40 percent will be shared by the state and central governments, 20 each. In the first phase, one million TEU containers will be handled annually. There will be direct and indirect employment opportunities for thousands of people. The country is incurring a huge cost in container transshipment. In Asia, the ports of Singapore and Colombo handle the main role of container transshipment. Colombo is the leader in handling containers in our country. If the Vizhinjam project becomes a reality, not only will the importance of Colombo and Singapore decrease, but there will also be a huge increase in foreign exchange earnings. The Vizhinjam project will change the face of not only the capital district , but also the state itself.

2. Road Transport in Kerala

Road transport plays a major role in the public transport sector. National Highways, which are considered as the primary network , carry 40 percent of the total traffic . State Highways and major district roads carry another 40 percent of the road traffic. State Highways , major district roads, etc. in Kerala are maintained by the Public Works Department. National Highways in Kerala are maintained by the State Public Works Department. These are the 11 National Highways that connect places in Kerala .

■ NH 66: Thalappady - Kaliyikavila

■ NH 85: Bodimedu - Kundannoor

■ NH 183: Kottarakkara - Kumily

■ NH 544: Walayar - Edappally

■ NH 744: Kollam - Kherkiuruthi

■ NH 766: Kozhikode - Muthanga

■ NH 966: Farokh - Palakkad

■ NH 966 A: Kalamassery - Vallarpadam

■ NH 966 B: Kundannoor - Wellington Island

■ NH 185: Adimali - Kumily

■ NH 183 A: Titanium Junction (Kollam) - Vandiperiyar

KSRTC​

A journey from Thampanoor in Thiruvananthapuram to Kavadiyur on February 20 , 1938 , carrying Sree Chithira Thirunal Balaramavarma and his family members ! That was the beginning of the Travancore State Transport Service, later known as KSRTC. The idea of ​​a government bus service was initiated by Sir C.P. Ramaswamy Iyer, the Diwan of Travancore. It was named KSRTC in 1965. The Kerala State Road Transport Corporation is the largest public sector transport undertaking in Kerala. Starting with just 901 buses, KSRTC has grown into a huge organization that today accounts for 38 percent of Kerala's public transport system . "Kerala Urban Road Transport Corporation" or KURTC is an institution run with the financial assistance of the Central Government with the aim of providing public transport in urban areas. It operates under the supervision of KSRTC. The headquarters of KURTC is in Thevara, Kochi.

3. Rail Transport in Kerala

The railway arrived in Kerala in March 1861 , starting a change in the transportation sector. The 30.5 km from Beypore to Tirur . That is the first railway line in Kerala. The Malabar Railway Company started this by the British. In 1888 , trains also reached Kozhikode. Trains started running in Travancore from 1904. From 1908 to 1924 , there was also a train in the hill station of Munnar. Rail transport in Kerala is managed by the Thiruvananthapuram , Palakkad and Madurai railway divisions. It is part of the Southern Railway. The state has a railway route length of 1050 km and 13 railway routes. The Thiruvananthapuram division handles the largest number of coaches in the Southern Railway.

Main trains and routes in Kerala

■ Centenary: Thiruvananthapuram - Kozhikode , Thiruvananthapuram - Kannur

■ Palaruvi Express: Tirunelveli - Palakkad

■ Rajdhani: Thiruvananthapuram - Hazrat Nizamuddin (New Delhi)

■ Venad Express: Thiruvananthapuram - Shoranur

■ Amrita Express: Thiruvananthapuram - Madurai

■ Ahalyanagari Express: Thiruvananthapuram - Indore (Madhya Pradesh)

■ Eranad Express: Nagercoil - Mangalore

■ Executive Express: Kannur - Alappuzha

■ Kerala Express: Thiruvananthapuram - New Delhi

■ Lokmanya Tilak - Garib Rath Express: Kochuveli - Mumbai

■ Rajya Rani Express: Nilambur - Kochuveli

■ Parasuram Express: Nagercoil - Mangalore

■ Malabar Express: Mangalore - Thiruvananthapuram

■ Maveli Express: Mangalore - Thiruvananthapuram

■ Raptisagar Express: Thiruvananthapuram - Gorakhpur (Uttar Pradesh) , Ernakulam - Barauni (Bihar)

■ Sabari Express: Thiruvananthapuram - Hyderabad

Kochi Metro

This is a project to connect 22 stations from Aluva to Pettah by rail. The foundation stone was laid on September 13 , 2012. The first phase is 25.6 km from Aluva to Pettah. The official inauguration of the Kochi Metro was performed by the Prime Minister on July 17 , 2017. The Prime Minister flagged off the service on the 13.4 km line from Aluva to Palarivattom in the first phase . The inauguration of the extended line from Palarivattom to Maharajas was held in the first week of September 2019. The inauguration of the line from Thaikudam to Pettah was held in 2020 .

4. Air Transport in Kerala

The first flight service to Kerala was in October 1935. The first flight service to Kerala was the ' Airmail ' service started by ' Tata Sons Company ' between Mumbai and Thiruvananthapuram. Passenger flight service to Thiruvananthapuram started in 1946. On the instructions of Dewan C.P. Ramaswamy Iyer , Tata Airlines operated flights from Madras to Thiruvananthapuram via Bengaluru , Coimbatore and Kochi. Around the same period, flight services were started from Wellington Island in Kochi.

Cochin International Airport

The airport in Kochi is the first in India to be built with the participation of the private sector without the help of the central government. In March 1994 , a public limited company was registered under the name ' Cochin International Airport Limited ' . The Chief Minister of Kerala is the Chairman of its Board of Directors. It was built with the participation of the government, private companies and the public. This successful development model in Kerala was later repeated in many parts of India. The airport, which was inaugurated in May 1999 by the pride of Malayalis, President K.R. Narayanan , was granted international status in 1999. About 11,000 NRIs from 30 countries are shareholders of ' CIALI ' . In addition, the Kerala government , industrialists , financial institutions, etc. are among the people who oversee it.

Trivandrum International Airport

Just a shed. That was the ' passenger terminal ' of Kerala's first airport ! The airport came into existence in the 1930s as part of the Kerala Flying Club. The first flight from Mumbai, the Tata Sons Company's Air Mail Service, took off at the Thiruvananthapuram airport, which was started on the initiative of Sree Chithira Thirunal Maharaja, in October 1935. The first passenger flight service in Kerala started in 1946. At that time, the fare from Thiruvananthapuram to Mumbai was Rs. 150. As a result of the development work carried out during 1977-78 , international flight services to Colombo , Mali and Gulf countries were started from Thiruvananthapuram. On January 1 , 1991 , Thiruvananthapuram airport was declared an international airport. Thiruvananthapuram is the first international airport to be declared outside a metropolitan city in India.