KOCHI: Terming the financial viability of the SilverLine project “questionable”, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said K-Rail has been asked to provide detailed technical documents to fully examine the semi high-speed rail project and arrive at a conclusion on its feasibility.
SilverLine will lay track for nearly 200km parallel to the existing one and utilise about 185 hectares of Indian Railways’ land for the purpose. Later on, no space will remain to accommodate Railways’ future third or fourth line, Vaishnaw said.
“Therefore, K-Rail has been advised to provide detailed technical documents such as alignment plan, particulars of railway land and private land and crossings over existing railway network, duly depicting affected railway asset through zonal railway for detailed examination of the project and to conclude its feasibility,” Vaishnaw said, in reply to the question by P V Abdul Wahab, MP.
SilverLine: Union min doubts financial viability
“Al so, the financial viability of this Rs 63,941-crore project is questionable,” the minister said. Since the Ministry of Railways is a joint venture partner in K-Rail, the Rs 33,700-crore debt component will finally come on the ministry as debt servicing mainly with passenger traffic is not possible.
“This will also be examined and firmed up after finalisation of technical parameters,” he said, in a written response. K-Rail, a joint-venture company of the Kerala government (51%) and the Ministry of Railways (49%), has taken up the work of SilverLine from Thiruvananthapuram to Kasaragod (530.6km).
Vaishnaw said in-principle approval (IPA) was granted to the project by the Railway Board on December 19, 2019, for taking up pre-investment activities. But granting of IPA means the preparation of a detailed project report (DPR), which brings out the complete details of the project including financials. “Once the DPR is made, based on the details brought out, a decision on taking up the project or otherwise can be taken,” he said.