THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The state government will bear 30 per cent of the total cost required for the development of the proposed 532-km-long semi-high-speed railway line from Thiruvananthapuram to Kasaragod, Kerala Railway Development Corporation Ltd (KRDCL) has said. The project envisages trains running at a speed of 130-200 km/hr through the dedicated semi-high-speed rail corridor covering the entire distance from Kochuveli to Kasaragod in four hours.
As per the feasibility report submitted by Paris-based engineering and consulting group Systra, the general consultant of KRDCL, which is a special purpose vehicle set up to execute viable projects on a cost-sharing basis between the state and the Indian Railways, the state’s share would come around Rs 19,940 crore, including Rs 8,650 crore required for land acquisition.
The total cost of the project is pegged at Rs 66,405 crore with an expected 5 per cent cost escalation. According to KRDCL officials, Kerala will have a 12 per cent equity contribution which is pegged at Rs 7,720 crore and Rs 8,656 crore for land environment impact assessment (EIA) and resettlement and rehabilitation (chiefly land acquisition), which would come around 13 per cent of the total cost, and 5 per cent share of the subordinated debt, which is around Rs 3,564 crore, taking the total cost share of the state to 30 per cent.
V Ajith Kumar, managing director of KRDCL, said the detailed project report is being prepared by the consultant and it will be submitted in October or November. The detailed project report will have traffic projections and the final share of the project would be known only after this report.
At present, the rate of returns is projected at around 8 per cent which has to be enhanced to 12 per cent to avail loan from commercial banks. If the rate of return is below 12 per cent, the state will have to depend on global funding agencies and their rate of interest would come around 1-1.5 per cent, he said. Once the alignment suggested in the feasibility report is approved by the state government, the KRDCL can forward the feasibility report and the DPR including detailed traffic study, soil investigation and EIA study, to the Railway Board for approval. Once the in-principal approval is granted, the state government can move ahead with the land acquisition.
It is expected that getting clearance and land acquisition will take around 18 months to two years and one more year will be taken for arranging finances for the project. And once the finances are arranged, the project can be executed in three years, said KRDCL officials.
Earlier, an elevated corridor with trains running at around 180 km per hour was suggested. Later, it was decided to draw the third and fourth railway lines parallel to the existing lines considering the escalation of the cost. If an elevated corridor is constructed, the rate of return would be less than 12 per cent as the fares would be relatively high in proportion to the cost of construction. The high-speed rail lines will be separated from the existing lines by constructing boundary walls or installing fences to avoid trespassing by stray animals or people given the speed of the trains, said officials.
