Stressing the need to develop a multimodal transportation system for enhancing the share of public transportation for passengers and freight movement, the draft approach paper to the 14th Five Year Plan, published by the Kerala State Planning Board, gives greater emphasis to developing more energy-efficient railways and inland waterways.
A successful SilverLine can ultimately help gain access to green project finance, it says. SilverLine, which will reduce travel time between Kasaragod and Thiruvananthapuram to four hours, is crucial to the achievement of the sectoral objective of enhancing the share of public transportation in the transport system.
It will also contribute to redressing regional imbalances, economic growth, employment generation, and the development of an environmentally sustainable rapid transport system. The long-term environmental benefits of the semi-high speed railway in the overall reduction of carbon emissions are well established, it says.
