KOCHI: With the state budget on Thursday earmarking `100 crore for a Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS), it gave rise to confusion over whether the allocation was for the same rail project recently proposed by E Sreedharan. However, the ‘Metro Man’ has clarified that the two are individual projects that have nothing to do with each other.
Speaking to TNIE, Sreedharan said the RRTS cannot be termed a high-speed rail project. “It will be similar to the suburban trains operated in Mumbai. The average speed of trains will be between 60-65 km/h. The reason? There will be stations every five kilometres,” he said.
The detailed project report that he is preparing on the directive of the Union railway ministry is for a different project, said Sreedharan. “The high-speed rail project will have trains with a top speed of 200 km/h, and an average commercial speed of 135 km/h.
The stations have been designed to be 20-25km apart. That is not possible in the case of an RRTS. Acceleration, deceleration, and application of breaks all affect a train’s speed,” he said. “Can you fathom an RRTS from Mumbai to Chennai?” he asked. “RRTS is not high-speed rail.”
Sreedharan pointed out that the project entrusted to him by the railway ministry is a certainty. “I will complete the DPR within six months,” he said. However, to the question whether an announcement will be made in the Union budget, he added that it might not happen.
“I believe the ministry will announce the project once the DPR is submitted and feasibility studies are conducted,” he said. However, he dispelled apprehensions that a lot of people will be displaced, especially since the alignment of the project passes through densely populated areas. “In such areas, the line will go underground. Tunnels will be constructed in such areas,” Sreedharan said.