Kerala govt ropes in Metro Man to plan new semi high-speed rail replacing proposed SilverLine
Sreedharan had met with the Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, expressing his willingness to provide technical expertise for the project.
Sreedharan had met with the Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, expressing his willingness to provide technical expertise for the project.
Sreedharan had met with the Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, expressing his willingness to provide technical expertise for the project.
Thiruvananthapuram: Even as the proposed SilverLine semi-high-speed rail corridor along the Thiruvananthapuram-Kasaragod route has stalled, the state government has begun exploring the feasibility of establishing a similar project on a standard-gauge track between Thiruvananthapuram and Kannur (430 km).
To evaluate a proposal in this regard by veteran engineer and Metro Man of India E Sreedharan, a delegation led by KM Abraham, Chief Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister, and Transport Secretary Biju Prabhakar, held unofficial discussions with Sreedharan at his residence in Ponnani.
Earlier, Sreedharan had met with the Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, expressing his willingness to provide technical expertise for the project. The proposed rail corridor, designed to run on elevated tracks and tunnels, aims to minimise land acquisition. The 430-km stretch will include 15 stations, spaced approximately 25–30 km apart, with trains reaching a maximum speed of 200 km/h.
Sreedharan has consistently maintained that the SilverLine project, which involved large-scale displacement of residents across the state, was impractical. He has recommended that the study for preparing the Detailed Project Report (DPR) for this newly proposed route be entrusted to either the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) or Indian Railways.
For its part, the Kerala government is prepared to move forward with the project, provided it secures the Centre’s approval for conducting a survey and establishing a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV). Consultations with the central government have already been initiated.
Commenting on the project, Sreedharan emphasised its benefits for both long- and short-distance travellers. “Although a study is underway to assess the potential of adding the third and fourth tracks by the Railway, straightening existing curves to increase speed is not feasible. Moreover, operating both passenger and freight trains on the same tracks increases the risk of accidents,” he noted.
According to him, the alignment of the new track will be finalised separately from the one proposed in DMRC’s earlier DPR for the Thiruvananthapuram-Kannur high-speed corridor.