High-speed-rail: Technocrat E. Sreedharan meets Kerala Chief Minister, hands over project proposal

Reviving hopes of a high-speed rail project in the State , technocrat E. Sreedharan met Kerala Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan here on Friday.

Although the State has not issued any statement in this regard, the State government was keen on a proposal for the high-speed rail project. A report on the proposal was handed over to the Chief Minister by Mr. Sreedharan, according to sources.

The State government also sought two weeks’ time to study the proposal and decided to hold further consultations before taking a final call on the proposal.

The proposal submitted by Mr. Sreedharan as an alternative to the de-notified semi-high-speed rail project (SilverLine) demands only minimal land acquisition as the project is mainly conceived on pillars and tunnels instead of the embankment model suggested by the SilverLine.

Since the proposal envisages giving the land back to the landowners once the pillars are built, the new United Democratic Front (UDF) government has a favourable stance on the project, according to sources.

According to the report prepared by Mr. Sreedharan, around 70% of the corridor would be elevated, with another 20% running underground.

The ₹1-lakh-crore project would also connect four airports, Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, Karipur, and Kannur, in the State with trains operating at speeds of up to 200 kmph on the corridor. Travel time from Thiruvananthapuram to Kochi would be about one hour and 20 minutes, while Kozhikode could be reached in two-and-a-half hours and Kannur in three hours and 15 minutes.