THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The proposed Semi High-Speed Rail (SHSR), ambitious infrastructure project which will connect Thiruvananthapuram to Kasaragod in four hours, is set to change the way people travel.
SHRS also known as Silver Line will connect two airports in Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi and its IT employment hubs such as Technopark and Infopark.
This would help thousands of people working in the city and makes a qualitative change to travel plans of expatriates in the state.
"Silver Line makes the airport accessible within two hours from any railway station," said K-Rail managing director V Ajith Kumar. K-Rail is a joint venture company of state government and the Ministry of Railways.
The K Rail MD was making a presentation on the Silverline project before the MLAs in the Kerala Assembly the other day.
The special railway corridor has a length of 532 kilometres and it will pass through 11 districts. The Silver Line stations will be connected to the major cities in the State. The project is expected to be completed in five years. The aerial survey of the project has already been completed. The detailed project report (DPR) and alignment will be ready by March, said Ajith Kumar.
'The Green Line'
The SHSR line is expected to reduce both congestion and pollution by taking off about 7,500 vehicles from roads. Around 46,100 daily road users and 11,500 train commuters are expected to shift to Silver Line. This will result in saving of fuel cost by an estimated Rs 530 crore in the current prices. As many as 500 trucks will stay away from roads with the freight movement starting through Silver Line, in the form of ‘RORO’ service.
Silver Line will also be a boon for domestic and foreign tourists, who now rely on rail journey. In future, special tourist services can be operated through this line, said Ajith Kumar.
Mega Project
K-Rail will have to acquire about 1,226hectares of land for the project, which is about half the land required for four-lane highways. Land acquisition is required on an average in 25metre width. Huge
employment opportunities will emerge through the project. Around 50 lakh job opportunities will be offered during the construction period, said Ajith Kumar.
Between Thiruvananthapuram and Tirur (310 km), the line will pass by a stretch that is different from the existing railway line, since it has a large number of curves that limit the speed. From Tirur upward (222 km), the line will run parallel to the existing track up till Kasaragod.
Keeping in mind the maintenance aspect, the rail corridor will also have roads parallel to it. This will open up the land along the new rail corridor in terms of access.
The SHSR line is perceived as a green project. For this, K-Rail will be tying up with IIM-Ahmedabad. It plans to depend heavily on renewable energy and re-used concrete and steel. The corporation is
set to adopt last-mile connectivity, with system-driven e-vehicle public transport system, multi-modal integration, charging and parking stations, which would take Kerala to next generation of urban
mobility. The feasibility study was conducted by Paris-based engineering and consulting group Systra for K-Rail.
The project has an estimated cost of Rs 66,079 crore. The lion’s share of the fund will be raised through loans from international financial aid institutions.