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Public
transport in the city is largely dependent on private buses.
Taxis and auto rickshaws (called autos) are available for hire
throughout the day. Narrow roads and the mix of vastly
differing types of vehicles have made traffic congestion a
problem in the city. A metro rapid transit service, intended
to considerably ease congestion, is currently under
construction.
Because it is one of the safest harbours in the Indian Ocean,
Kochi ranks among India's major seaports. The port,
administered by a statutory autonomous body known as the
Cochin Port Trust, offers facilities for bunkering, handling
cargo and passenger ships and storage accommodation. It also
operates passenger ships to Colombo and Lakshadweep. Boat
services operated by Kerala Shipping and Inland Navigation
Corporation, the State Water Transport Department, and of
private ownership are available from various boat jetties in
the city. The junkar ferry for the transshipment of vehicles
and passengers between the islands are operated between
Ernakulam and Vypin, and between Vypin and Fort Kochi.
However, with the construction of the Goshree bridges (which
links Kochi's islands), ferry transport has become less
essential.
The Cochin International Airport, which is about 25 kilometres
(15 mi) north of the city, handles both domestic and
international flights. It is the largest airport of Kerala,
and one of the busiest in India. It is the first international
airport in India to be built without Central Government funds.
An airport run by the Navy also operates in the city. A third
airport, for use by the Indian Coast Guard, is under
construction in the suburbs.
There is no intra-city rail transport system in Kochi. The
inter-city rail transport system in the city is administered
by the Southern Railway division of the Indian Railways. There
are two main railway stations—the Ernakulam Junction and the
Ernakulam Town (locally known as the 'South' and 'North'
railway stations respectively). The railway line connecting
these two stations cuts the city longitudinally in two, with
two narrow bridges connecting the two halves.
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