KOCHI: The high-speed railway line project proposed by E Sreedharan is on track. However, he cautioned that the project will not be able to meet the May deadline for the detailed project report (DPR) submission. His statement comes in the wake of a Facebook post by MP Kodikunnil Suresh claiming the Centre has not given project approval to Sreedharan and Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC).
“I never said that approval had been received from the Union Railway Ministry. The approval will be given only after the DPR is submitted and a feasibility study is conducted,” Sreedharan told TNIE. He said that the work on the DPR is only halfway through. “The delay has happened due to the election. Now, we will be able to proceed only after a new government comes to power.”
As for the claims made by the MP, he said, “Yes, the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MOHUA) is not the authority to give permission for a Railway project. It only has authority over projects like metro and urban rail networks. The high-speed rail project doesn’t come under the MOHUA. Ours is not an RRTS project!”
Kodukunnil had also posted that the Union government rejected Sreedharan’s claims that he had been appointed as the point person for the project.
“In reply to an Unstarred Question No. 4518 raised in Lok Sabha on March 19, 2026, the MOHUA has clarified that DMRC and E Sreedharan have not been given any consultancy, advisory or technical assignment for preparing proposals in relation to high-speed rail or RRTS projects in Kerala at present. The Union government has also saidthat Kerala has not submitted any DPR for high-speed rail or RRTS projects in the recent past,” the MP posted on FB.
“Also, the National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited, the implementing agency for high-speed rail projects in India, has clarified that no consultancy or technical assignment has been given to DMRC and Sreedharan in relation to any high-speed rail project in Kerala. It is clear that there is no official basis for the claims that Sreedharan or DMRC are involved in high-speed rail projects in Kerala,” said the post.