KOCHI: Ernakulam, the commercial capital of the state, will be the only district to have two stops when trains start running on the 529.45km-long SilverLine semi high-speed rail line. The project, which aims to reduce the travel time from Kasaragod to Thiruvananthapuram from 12 hours to four hours, will have only 11 stops, of which two are Kakkanad, Ernakulam district headquarters, and Nedumbassery where the Kochi international airport is located. The prominence of Kochi as one of the business metropolises of the country and the presence of the airport prompted K-Rail to provide two stops in the district.
In a bid to allay the concerns of the industrial sector and the general public, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will explain the project and seek the suggestions of representatives of various sectors during the Janasamaksham programme at TDM Hall here on Thursday. Representatives of political parties and various social organisations, and experts will attend the meeting which is scheduled to begin at 11am.
The 11 stops are Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Chengannur, Kottayam, Kakkanad, Nedumbassery, Thrissur, Tirur, Kozhikode, Kannur and Kasaragod. Jan Shatabdi Express takes four hours to reach Thiruvananthapuram from Kochi. By a SilverLine train, a commuter will be able to reach the capital city from Kochi within one-and-a-half hours. The travelling time between Kozhikode and Kochi will be 75 minutes.
SilverLine will charge Rs 2.75 per km and the cost for the onward journey from Kochi to Thiruvananthapuram will be Rs 540. SilverLine will pass through 11 districts and the maximum speed of trains will be 200kmph.
Passenger trains during day, Ro-Ro at night
K-Rail, a joint venture of the state government and the Union railway ministry, will implement the project. The government has already started preliminary works for the `63,941-crore project. The government will acquire 1,383 hectares of land of which 1,198 hectares belong to are private parties. The project alignment has been prepared avoiding wetlands, religious places and sacred groves.
As per the plan, 9,314 buildings including houses will be demolished. The SilverLine will operate passenger trains during daytime and ‘roll-on, roll-off ’ goods services at night. Initially, Ro-Ro will carry 480 trucks daily. There will be five Ro-Ro stations on the rail line and they will be located away from the passenger stations. The Silver- Line will have Ro-Ro stops at Kozhikode West Hill and Kannur.
There will be maintenance depots at Kollam, Pazhanganad, Tirur and Kannur. An estimated 46,206 road users are expected to shift to SilverLine once the project starts operations, which will decongest the roads. The project will provide an impetus to goods transportation and tourism sectors.
The government has promised that the project will be environment- friendly and that greenhouse gas emission will be minimum. The government has also promised that the embankment made for the project will not cause flooding as culverts will ensure free flow of water.
Know the stops
Thiruvananthapuram
Rs 2.75 SilverLine will charge per km
200 kmph will be the maximum speed of the train
Metroman counters CM on the project
Metroman E Sreedharan on Wednesday countered Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s statement that Kerala won’t be divided by the K-Rail project saying wherever the semi high-speed rail line runs on the ground, on either side high concrete or masonry walls have to be built to prevent trespass of people and animals.