Even as the 530-km SilverLine semi-high-speed rail project has been projected as one aimed at attaining ‘net-zero emission’ while transporting people en masse, questions are being raised about from where and how the massive volume of aggregate (sand, gravel and crushed rock), mud, and other raw materials will be sourced.
Critics have been sceptical of the statements of K-Rail officials that the materials for the ₹63,794-crore project will be transported by train at little cost from neighbouring States. They cite the much-smaller Vizhinjam port project as an example of how difficulties in procuring raw materials can hold up a project.
