THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A day after Metroman E Sreedharan raised serious doubts about the viability of the proposed semi high-speed rail corridor (SilverLine), Kerala Rail Development Corporation MD V Ajith Kumar refuted the charges. SilverLine is envisioned to meet the future transportation needs of Kerala and there will be no need for new railway lines in future, he said
The decision to build SilverLine parallel to the existing track from Kasaragod to Tirur was taken following a meeting on October 27, 2017, attended by the CM and Railway Board chairman. The charge that the embankment will harm the environment and cause flooding is baseless as the SilverLine embankment will be the same as the existing embankments. In the last 100 years, no railway embankment in the state has caused flooding, he said.
The allegation that high-speed trains across the world are running on elevated paths is not true. Around 90% of high-speed and semi high-speed rail lines are at grade, i.e., running at ground level. On criticism that the RO-RO facility of SilverLine is possible as the night time is used for track maintenance, he said the RO-RO will run in non-peak hours and at night after track maintenance works.
The detailed project report (DPR) is awaiting the final approval of the Railway Board. DPRs of such projects are not published. He said the cost Rs 63,941 crore is calculated by including the cost rise up to 2025. Five years is enough to build the SilverLine, he said.
Chandy: CPM opposed expressway, now wants Rs 1.24L-cr SilverLine
T’Puram: It’s surprising that CPM which once criticised the South-North Express Highway proposed by the UDF government has now become the proponents of SilverLine, said senior Congress leader Oommen Chandy. “The government should rethink about the project in the light of the climatic challenges being faced by the state. The rapid rail transit (suburban rail) project conceived by the UDF government (2011-16) requires only Rs 8,000 crore to run trains at increased speeds through existing lines. The state government should think whether it is wise to go ahead with a project which requires around Rs 1.24 lakh crore,” he said.