KOCHI: In a master stroke, the LDF government has on-boarded ‘Metro Man’ E Sreedharan for the SilverLine project, which was stalled midway through the land survey following public protests.
The government has sought the suggestions of Sreedharan on the semi-high speed rail corridor project, which has been stuck for nearly a year. Sreedharan will submit a note on a reworked project plan to the state government on Monday.
The development follows a two-hour-long meeting between Prof K V Thomas, the Kerala government’s special representative in Delhi, and A K Vijayakumar, who is in charge of liaison work for K-Rail, and Sreedharan at his residence in Ponnani on Sunday. “Prof Thomas wanted a note from my side, which I will submit to him tomorrow (Monday),” Sreedharan told TNIE.
By roping in Sreedharan, the country’s premier railway architect, the state government expects to win the trust and confidence of the people in the project. Sreedharan said the existing SilverLine project, which proposed the construction of a 529.45km-long semi-high-speed rail corridor from Thiruvananthapuram to Kasaragod, needs a complete overhaul. Under the new plan, the entire stretch would be either elevated or underground.
“The existing SilverLine project is not acceptable. This will not get the Railway Board’s approval. It won’t get foreign funding either,” he said, adding that Kerala requires a semi-high-speed railway for its progress.
We need to prepare a new project report, says Sreedharan
Sreedharan said if the new route is either elevated or underground, the land acquisition will be only 1/4th or 1/5th of what’s proposed now. “This will also be easily acceptable to the public,” he said. To begin with, the project should be only from Thiruvananthapuram to Kannur. “It can be extended at a later stage to Kasaragod,” he said. The distance between Kannur and Kasaragod is about 82 km.
“As per our original estimate, only 150 odd people travel from Kannur to Kasaragod. So, it’s not worth it,” Sreedharan said. Prof Thomas had told TNIE during ‘Express Dialogues’ programme that the move to revive the SilverLine project comes as the introduction of the Vande Bharat train was not successful in Kerala. “Its arrival caused chaos concerning the other passenger train services. Vande Bharat is not enough to solve the travel issues faced by Kerala,” he said.
Sreedharan said the state government will have to redo the entire project, and the routes will also be different from what was proposed in the initial stage. “We need to prepare a new project report. The new project will get funding support,” he said. He suggested a new funding structure. The state should bear the entire land cost. The Union and state governments should equally share 60% of the construction cost. The remaining 40% should be raised through external borrowing, he said.
Sreedharan said the Kerala Rail Development Corporation Ltd. (KRDCL), a company floated by the state government for the construction of the railway infrastructure, should not be entrusted with establishing SilverLine. “It should be handed over to the Indian Railways or DMRC (Delhi Metro Rail Corporation), which built the first phase of Kochi Metro Rail.” He said the entire project cost will be within Rs 1 lakh crore, which compares well with the government’s project.
“There won’t be big change in cost structure if we use the underground and elevated structures, using the latest technologies,” Sreedharan said, adding SilverLine’s original cost is highly suppressed. Another advantage of the new plan is that land can be handed back to original owners after the project’s completion so that people can use it for farming or grazing animals.
On busy stretches, the rail route should go underground, Sreedharan said. On the timeline for completion, he said the detailed project report (DPR) will take one-and-a-half-years. “If the task is entrusted to DMRC, they can complete it within a year. After getting the nod, it will take at least six years, provided an agency like DMRC, and not KRDCL, handles the project,” he said.
On whether he would give his advice for the project, he said, “I’m willing to give support to any project to benefit the state, irrespective of my political colour. I’m a technocrat.” On whether the new plan would also face protests, Sreedharan said the public should be educated on the benefits of the project. “Tell them the benefits of the projects, particularly on land acquisition. Once they become aware, they will come on board. Tell them also about the advantages the project would bring to Kerala,” he added.
Metro Man’s suggestions