The monorail project will necessitate yet another modification - concerning a bridge this time - to the rail connectivity alignment of the multi-crore Vizhinjam seaport project.
Ports Minister K Babu told the Assembly on Thursday that the alignment will have to be modified as it ‘collides’ with the Phase II alignment of the monorail project.
Officials of Vizhinjam International Seaport Ltd (VISL), the government company overseeing the port project, said that a rail overbridge (ROB) planned earlier over the National Highway for laying the railway tracks may have to be converted into a rail underbridge (RUB).
Discussions have begun to sort out the issue as the alignments for the two projects cross at Madavurpara. ‘’It’s basically a technical problem. When we first proposed the rail alignment, the monorail project had not been conceived. We, along with the Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd (RVNL), have held discussions with NATPAC,’’ VISL CEO A S Suresh Babu said.
Initially, rail connectivity for the port project was planned from Vizhinjam to Neyyatinkara. But this was found impractical and Neyyatinkara was replaced by Nemom railway station. The overhead track for the monorail project will cover the Technocity-Karamana stretch in Phase I. In Phase II, the line will be extended further south, up to Neyyatinkara.
With regards the Vizhinjam project, the state government has acquired 96.29 acres - which include 95 per cent of the land required for the port proper - of the total 297.03 acres planned. The remaining 200 acres will be taken over soon, the Ports Minister told the Assembly in a written reply on Thursday.