Kerala’s Silver line rail project faces a fresh hurdle

The controversial Silver line high speed train project faces yet another hurdle with Southern Railways raising concerns over alignment.

The Southern railway which operates railway services in Kerala in its report to the Railway board has taken exception to the consideration of the project by the board without consulting them. Southern railway has contended that the Silver line project could pose a major obstacle to the future rail development of the state according to media reports.

The report contends that the implementation of the Silver Line could potentially impose a financial burden on the Southern railways.  Railways have also made it clear that they cannot release their land for the Silver Line project. 

The project was initially opposed by the railway board on grounds of feasibility. The Kerala government had incorporated suggestions made by the Metro Man Sreedharan in the latest project report.  At a time the railway board was favorably disposed towards the silverline project, the objections have come from unexpected quarters the southern railway

The 529.45 km SilverLine corridor, linking Kasaragod and Thiruvananthapuram, boasts an operating speed of 200 kmph. This ambitious project aims to streamline transportation between the northern and southern ends of the state, significantly cutting down the total travel time to less than 4 hours. This is a substantial improvement compared to the current travel duration of 10 to 12 hours. The corridor features intermediate stations at key locations, including Kollam, Chengannur, Kottayam, Ernakulam, Kochi Airport, Thrissur, Tirur, Kozhikode, and Kannur.

The Silver Line project spans a length of 529.45 kilometers and is designed to operate at a speed of 200 kmph. With this configuration, the anticipated travel time between Kasaragod and Thiruvananthapuram is expected to be approximately 4 hours, a significant reduction from the current 10 to 12 hours. The cost of the project works out to nearly Rs 65,000 crores.

With the operation of two vandebharat trains in this route, the need for huge investment for infrastructure on a passenger train is unwarranted according to industry sources.