Even as the State government’s ambitious semi-high-speed rail project SilverLine, which promises to transport passengers and goods at higher speeds, has been receiving brickbats, the freight movement from Kerala through the existing railway network has increased exponentially in recent times, riding high on the traffic of petroleum products, petroleum derivatives, fertilizer, cement, and food items.
The Thiruvananthapuram division under the Southern Railways handled 589 million tonnes (MT) in the first two months of the current fiscal compared to the 373 MT in the corresponding period last fiscal. The Palakkad division handled 561 MT freight in May alone compared to 320 MT freight handled by the Thiruvananthapuram division in the month. According to a senior railway officer, the freight movement to and from Kerala has been increasing and the trend was upward even during the peak of COVID-19. So is the case with parcel service from Kerala.
