Water metro as Guwahati’s future mass mobility

The inclusion of Guwahati in the list of 18 cities selected for rolling out water metro projects in the first phase has triggered fresh hopes of decongesting the city’s traffic. The central government releasing the Draft National Water Metro Policy, 2026, after approval of the feasibility studies of the cities included in phase I has pushed the agenda of integrating the Brahmaputra River that passes by Guwahati with the city’s mobility network. Smooth intra-modal traffic transfer will be crucial for transforming the city’s current road-based mobility into a multimodal traffic system. Mere construction of the terminals and jetties and introduction of modern vessels will not ensure the success of the proposed water metro system unless the commuters have easy access to the interchange points to shift from road to river and back without any bottlenecks. Drawing lessons from the failure to operationalise a proposed river taxi service for the city, which was announced in 2018, even after signing a memorandum of understanding by the state government with a cab aggregator will be necessary for meticulous planning for the proposed water metro service. The draft policy describes water metro systems to be most suitable for cities and regions with concentrated populations and directional travel patterns, in line with mass rapid transit planning principles. It emphasises that Inland Waterways Transportation (IWT), by virtue of lower energy consumption per passenger kilometre, has the potential to significantly enhance sustainability and cost efficiency within the urban mobility and logistics ecosystem. For specific operating conditions—such as longer trip lengths, higher power or range requirements, challenging waterway characteristics or safety considerations—the policy permits the use of hybrid vessels to ensure safe, efficient and reliable operations. The policy does not mandate the sourcing of clean fuels/electricity exclusively from renewable sources in the initial phase, even though it seeks to encourage integrating renewable energy sources with charging and refuelling infrastructure, which shall be encouraged. The overarching emphasis on passenger safety, comfort, accessibility, predictable schedules and service reliability sounds encouraging to boost confidence of passengers, but achieving this will be possible only through the introduction of modern vessels, adoption of advanced navigational and communication systems, strict compliance with safety standards and professional management. Availability of required water depth and sedimentation in the Brahmaputra present tough navigational challenges, and addressing those during designing of the jetties and planning of the access points for riders. Another key challenge is the constant shifting of the main navigable channel of the river, which makes it difficult to maintain fixed navigational routes, due to which terminals may experience dry sand back and become stranded during the dry season. Addressing such challenges will remain vital for ensuring year-round mobility of the water metro service. Even though the water metro project for Guwahati and other cities and the rolling of the draft national policy have been propelled by the successful and sustainable operation of the Kochi Water Metro service inaugurated in 2023, the challenges posed by the dynamic and braided river system, such as the Brahmaputra, are not comparable to the challenges of weed infestation and plastic waste clogging the calm backwaters of Kochi. The high flood situation in the Brahmaputra is another major sustainability challenge which needs to be squarely addressed through meticulous planning and mitigation measures. Roping in experts on the Brahmaputra River during planning, preparation of the Detailed Project Report and execution will ensure that their knowledge on the complex river morphology, seasonal channel migration and sedimentation is incorporated for efficient designing of the water metro infrastructure for smooth and safe operation. The draft plan has sounded a word of caution that while overall project costs are expected to be lower than a rail-based mass rapid transit system due to limited land-side construction, the induction of low-emission vessels and the supporting energy ecosystem raise the initial capital expenditure. Ridership growth potential and modal shift may be comparatively modest relative to metro rail, and several corridors will serve lower-income users, warranting reasonable, affordable fares to sustain mass-transport utility. The fares remaining lower than road transport will be crucial to motivate riders to shift from road to river. Nevertheless, a speed advantage compared to slow-moving city buses will be a prime advantage of the water metro and increase its commercial viability. Any idea of operating the water metro service as a premium-segment transport service or targeting primarily tourists must not be encouraged, as it will fail the core objectives of reducing urban traffic congestion for ease of living and making cities sustainable. Successful operationalisation of the water metro service will not only unlock the potential of fast mobility connecting long-distance city destinations such as airports, but it will also transform the perception of the city residents of the Brahmaputra from a barrier to access to a high-speed artery of this gateway to the Northeast. Succeeding where river taxis failed will require a fine blending of local river wisdom with a flexible national policy framework.