Thiruvananthapuram: In an effort to rebuild the narrative around the controversy-ridden SilverLine Rail Corridor project, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan plans to extend the proposed project, which is envisaged to connect both ends of the state, past its borders into Mangaluru in Karnataka.
Vijayan, speaking at the Southern Zone Council Meet, informed that the meeting with his Karnataka counterpart Basavaraj Bommai is slated for later this month.
Experts are viewing this likely extension to Mangaluru as a political move to win the Centre's nod for the project by disguising it as an inter-state development plan rather than one just confined to Kerala's borders.
Karnataka is ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party, also the ruling political party in India. Meanwhile, Kerala is helmed by the Left-front coalition helmed by the Communist Party of India Marxist.
Tamil Nadu wants in on high-speed rail project
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin too had urged the Centre to create a high-speed rail corridor connecting specific locations within Tamil Nadu and to neighbouring States as well.
Such a move would be much more economical, more energy efficient and less polluting than aeroplanes and automobiles, he contended.
"In order to increase the average speed of travel in the State passenger traffic, I insist on the creation of a high-speed rail corridor connecting specific locations in Tamil Nadu like Chennai, Coimbatore, Tuticorin and Madurai to each other and to neighbouring states as well," Stalin said while addressing the 30th Southern Zonal Council meeting chaired by Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Thiruvananthapuram.
This initiative would reduce carbon footprint in line with India's net-zero ambition and enhance the economic prosperity of the State as a whole, the CM noted.
