The report submitted by the Southern Railway on issues related to the SilverLine project of Kerala has put a question mark on the viability of the 530-km Thiruvananthapuram-Kasaragod semi-high-speed-rail project proposed by the Kerala Rail Development Corporation Limited (K-Rail). The Railway Board had earlier directed the Southern Railway to hold discussions with K-Rail on issues related to the project and submit a report at the earliest.
In the report submitted, the Southern Railway has said that the proposed alignment of the project was finalised without prior consultation with it. The alignment is quite close to the railway infrastructure and train operations would be interrupted by the dismantling and reconstruction of railway assets for the proposed project. Further, the future development needs of Railways in Kerala have not been considered by the K-Rail.
Expressing its inability to spare the required land for the project, Railways said the SilverLine track was proposed as a standard gauge with a design speed of 200 kmph which is not in conformity with that of the existing railway line. It cannot be integrated with the rail network which has gradients and horizontal curves.
Financial liability
Also, while listing the impact of the project on the railway infrastructure including staff quarters and power distribution network, the report said reconstruction of some of the existing rail assets as part of the SilverLine project will cause additional financial liability to Railways as the lines are almost parallel on the Kasaragod-Tirur stretch. Further, the boundary walls suggested on either side of the track at many places will inconvenience passengers, the report said.
However, the K-Rail explained that the alignment was decided taking note of the future development plans of Railways. The impact on railway properties and train services would be on a normal scale. Doubling of existing tracks would affect railway property and train services. The impact would be similar with SilverLine too. All these details were discussed with Railways in various stages.
Avoiding demolition
Further, the complete picture of the impact of the project on rail infrastructure would be available only at the stage of final design preparation, the K-Rail explained. Maximum care had been taken to avoid the demolition of railway buildings. If the staff quarters had to be removed, alternative arrangements would be made before they were demolished, the note said. In matters related to gauge, design speed, and operating speed, all were approved by the Ministry of Railways earlier and accordingly, the SilverLine project was given in-principle approval, it said.
Commenting on the development, Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan said the United Democratic Front (UDF) would not allow the State to implement this impractical project even if the project is approved by the Centre.
