THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will announce rail projects worth Rs 1,900 crore after the flag-off of Vande Bharat Express on Tuesday. The event will be held at Central Stadium in Palayam. He will lay the foundation stone for the redevelopment of Thiruvananthapuram, Varkala Sivagiri and Kozhikode at a total cost of Rs 1,140 crore.
The projects aim at developing the stations with aesthetically designed interiors with improved ambience, landscaped exteriors and other airport-like facilities. The design will consider the requirements for the next 40 years, said a statement. There will be separate arrival and departure corridors, multi-level vehicle parking and multi-mode connectivity.
Modi will lay the foundation stone for the comprehensive development of the Thiruvananthapuram area at a cost of Rs 156 crore. This includes the development of Trivandrum’s satellite terminal Kochuveli and the new additional terminal at Nemom. Nemom Terminal will facilitate the handling of train services both towards Ernakulam and beyond and also towards Nagercoil / Madurai. The two additional platforms and one additional stabling line at Kochuveli will facilitate the handling of additional trains from Kochuveli Terminal.
Modi will lay the foundation stone for increasing the sectional speed of the Thiruvananthapuram - Shoranur (326.83 km) section at a cost of Rs 381 crore. Once the sectional speed of the section is increased, rail passengers can look forward to much faster trains and reduced travel time with faster connectivity to the major destinations in Kerala, said a statement.
The PM will dedicate the electrified section on the Palakkad-Palani-Dindigul stretch. The 179-km stretch is commissioned at a cost of Rs 242 crore. Through inter-state interlinking, railways can save time for traction change for all traffic between Dindigul in Tamil Nadu and Palakkad in Kerala.
Moreover, the section is an important freight route and the stations located en route will get faster connectivity with the commissioning of the electrified section. Electrification will pave the way for the introduction of MEMU services and will bring about seamless connectivity providing faster access to pilgrimage and tourism destinations. It would also help in operating environment-friendly modes of transportation and attain zero carbon emissions.