THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The DPR of the proposed SilverLine semi high-speed rail project, accessed by TNIE, reveals that the Centre has not dropped the Chennai-Bengaluru-Coimbatore-Kochi-Thiruvananthapuram high-speed rail project. It was originally planned only till Ernakulam, but was extended to Thiruvananthapuram following the then UDF government’s plea.
However, the LDF government, in its first term after the UDF rule, and the present Pinarayi Vijayan government haven’t done anything to push for the Kerala leg of the project. It would have gifted the state a high-speed rail corridor and most of its expense would have been borne by the Union Government.
At the same time, most of the expenses for Pinarayi’s pet SilverLine project connecting Thiruvananthapuram to Kasaragod will have to be borne by the state government, including repayment of loans from foreign agencies.
The Centre had earlier announced seven high-speed rail projects including 650km-long Pune-Mumbai-Ahmedabad and 850km-long Chennai-Bengaluru-Coimbatore-Kochi-Thiruvananthapuram project with trains moving at a speed of 300 km/hr.
The first HSR to be implemented in the country is Mumbai-Ahmedabad of 508.17km length and the project has been taken up under the JICA’s bilateral plan. Had the state government taken interest to make it a reality for which a Japanese agency had then conducted a pre-feasibility study and approved the path, the state had to think about only a smaller project for connecting the remaining parts of north Kerala with the proposed high-speed rail line connecting the metro cities in South India.
A senior K-Rail official told TNIE that whether to go ahead with the high speed or semi high-speed project is a policy decision. Any urban modern transport system ought to be welcomed in the state. It is up to the political leadership to explain why they prefer to go ahead with a standalone semi high-speed rail network.
Ajith Kumar V, MD of KRDCL, said, “The state can still link SilverLine network with other cities in south India. But the only issue is that the train will run at a speed of 200 km/hr in Kerala and it can take speed up to 300 km/hr when it crosses the border.”
