Amidst reports that the Centre is planning to upgrade the rail network in the State to facilitate the movement of trains at 130 km/hr in the first phase and then at 160 km/hr, by straightening curves and drawing a third line between Ernakulam and Shoranur, technocrat E. Sreedharan has said that enhancing speed of trains to that extent will not be an easy task in Kerala.
Installing automatic signalling in the rail network is the immediate need of the hour in Kerala, which will allow the authorities to enhance the speed of trains by around 10-15% and introduce around 20-25 more trains on the existing tracks. Speaking to The Hindu, Mr. Sreedharan said he had suggested upgrading the signalling system which the Southern Railway authorities had accepted.
