THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Railways will soon come out with a project that will offer an alternative to the state’s SilverLine semi-high speed rail proposal, Union Minister V Muraleedharan has said. The minister was speaking to reporters in Delhi after leading a delegation of BJP leaders from the state to meet Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.
Muraleedharan said the Railways will soon unveil an alternative project that will offer high-speed rail travel without the need for large-scale eviction of people as in the case of SilverLine. The delegation urged the minister that a meeting of MPs from the state should be convened so that elected representatives can give their suggestions to the Railway’s alternative proposal.
“The Railways is engaged in studies to explore the possibility of rail travel at the speed of 130 kmph across the state,” the minister said. A final decision on the alternative project to SilverLine will be taken after discussions with MPs from the state before the end of the current Parliament session, he added.
Muraleedharan said the Detailed Project Report (DPR) on SilverLine, prepared by the LDF government, shows that it is an unscientific, ecologically destructive and economically unviable proposal. “The Narendra Modi government will not be able to ignore the huge protests by people who will be evicted for the project,” he added. Regarding the proposed Nemom coaching terminal, Muraleedharan said the delegation urged the Railway Minister not to abandon the project and to start work on it at the earliest. “The Railway Minister assured us that orders will be issued in this regard soon,” Muraleedharan said.
Members of the BJP delegation from the state included party national executive member P K Krishnadas, state president K Surendran, state general secretary P Sudheer and Thiruvananthapuram district president V V Rajesh.