Railway Ministry sees Kerala's Silverline high-speed project as 'unnecessary': V Muraleedharan

The minister's comments came a day after the Centre expressed its inability to bear the liability of the foreign loans to be availed for the project
Union Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan (File photo| Vincent Pulickal, EPS)
Union Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan (File photo| Vincent Pulickal, EPS)

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Railway Ministry is of the view that Kerala's Silverline high-speed rail project in its current form is 'unnecessary', Union Minister V Muraleedharan has said. The minister's comments came a day after the Centre expressed its inability to bear the liability of the foreign loans to be availed for the project.

"I have held discussions on the Silverline project with officials of the Railway Board, Railway Ministry and the Railway Minister himself. They are of the view that there is no need for a new railway line in the state," Muraleedharan told reporters here on Saturday.
 
The Union Minister said the Railway Ministry has asked the state whether the existing railway line could be developed to facilitate high-speed travel. After making technical upgradations to the existing lines, trains with speeds of up to 200-250 kmph can be operated.

Muraleedharan said the state government's stance on the Silverline project was 'mysterious'. "The new railway would cause severe ecological damage to the state but the government has not undertaken studies on the social and ecological impact of such a project. Neither does it have any plan on how the foreign loans will be repaid," he said.

The Union Minister asked whether any experts were consulted before coming up with the project proposal. "Kerala has four airports. If these are further developed, people can reach their destinations faster. Ironically, the LDF government, which is against development of Thiruvananthapuram airport, wants to take a loan of around Rs 34,000 crore to create a new railway line," Muraleedharan said.

The detailed project report of the Rs 63,941-crore Silverline semi high-speed railway line by the Kerala Rail Development Corporation Limited (K-Rail) is presently awaiting the approval of the Union railway ministry, finance department and central cabinet. Once completed, Silverline would enable travel between Thiruvananthapuram and Kasaragod in four hours.

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