Thiruvananthapuram: Will the State Government nudge the Kerala Rail Development Corporation Ltd (K-Rail) to alter the current alignment of the SilverLine semi high-speed rail project to help many save their properties? Though its Managing Director V Ajithkumar stated that it was probable after the social impact study, a new alignment away from the proposed current corridor is unlikely!

The consulting agency that studied the project had earlier ruled out any change in the alignment, and had listed out the reasons.

The agency studied two possible alignments: first, creating the SilverLine rail corridor parallel to the existing railway track, and second, a coastal corridor.

The first one was further divided into three:

1. Construct the corridor through new areas between Thiruvananthapuram and Tirur, and then run it parallel to the existing railway line till Kasaragod.

2. Create the corridor parallel to the existing tracks throughout its entire length — from Thiruvananthapuram to Kasaragod.

3. A separate track parallel to the existing one without compromising on the speed and design.

It was found that the last two options would not help SilverLine to achieve the planned speed. It would warrant the acquisition of more land, besides covering additional distance. Additionally, it would escalate the project cost, and the number of beneficiaries would be less. The K-Rail accepted the first suggestion after considering all these factors.

A corridor along the coast was rejected at the initial stage itself since it would run parallel to the existing railway track only for 42 kilometres and the project cost would be higher. Additionally, it would skip major towns and cities.

The alignment was finalised after prolonged studies and surveys. Any change to the alignment would warrant fresh studies. The alignment of major projects elsewhere had never been changed due to protests.

Changing the alignment in one particular stretch alone would put pressure on K-Rail to alter it in other areas also. It has been suspected that the managing director's offer to alter the alignment was a ploy to create a conducive atmosphere for completing the social impact study.