With the Centre reportedly soft-pedalling on according sanction for the ₹63,000-crore SilverLine semi-high-speed railway project, experts are batting for alternatives in the form of faster but cost-effective travel by trains and a dedicated corridor through the plenteous but under-utilised coastal and inland waterways of the State.
Even as the future of SilverLine is uncertain, there is tremendous scope to speed up movement of trains, if need be, by laying third track in areas such as Ernakulam-Shoranur and Thiruvananthapuram-Kayamkulam, where speed is limited despite the availability of a pair of tracks. This is because trains will continue to be the fastest, economical and sustainable mass rapid transport system (MRTS). One can work wonders through minimal land acquisition and augmenting of infrastructure at stations. But the number of stops of express and premium trains must be reduced, said former NATPAC director B.G. Sreedevi, who is now project director-cum-top-level expert at WAPCOS Limited, a Central government undertaking.
