Metro Man all for high-speed rail much faster than SilverLine

Malappuram: ‘Metroman’ E Sreedharan's opposition to the Left Democratic Front (LDF) Government's plan for the semi-high-speed SilverLine rail project is well-known.

Amid reports that the famed technocrat is amenable to a greenfield railway, he clarified that he is ready to lay a high-speed rail corridor but averred that the proposed SilverLine is not feasible. Instead, he suggested one with underground and elevated paths, unlike the ground-level SilverLine that requires displacement of people and razing of buildings, including dwellings.

Trains could cover the 500-kilometre
Thiruvananthapuram-Kannur section in just 1 hour 8 minutes in the event of laying such a high-speed rail corridor, he pointed out.

Trains on the proposed SilverLine project are estimated to link Thiruvananthapuram to Kasaragod in around four hours. The distance of this semi-high-speed corridor is 529.45 km.

Sreedharan said he is ready to helm the alternative project, setting aside politics, if the State Government is interested. 

However, he suggested building semi-high-speed line first and then graduating to high-speed track.

On Sunday, K V Thomas, former Congress leader and the State’s special envoy in New Delhi, called on Sreedharan at the latter’s residence here and deliberated on the matter. Following this, a statement in connection with the SilverLine project had come out in the name of Sreedharan. He clarified the same later. 

Sreedharan was engaged in building the Kochi Metro and his role went a long way in speeding up the project. His ties with the Left dispensation in the state apparently worsened after he became a candidate of the BJP in the 2021 assembly polls.

Sreedharan had earlier flagged the environmental hazards of the SilverLine project which is promoted by the Kerala Rail Development Corporation (K-Rail). The new line has to be built parallel to the existing broad-gauge railway line. Acquiring vast lands for the project is not practically feasible and would require rehabilitation of thousands of families. Also, the construction of walls on both sides was found restrictive to the movement of people and even smooth natural drainage.   

The alignment of the K-Rail project too didn't find favour with Sreedharan. 

Over 3,000 bridges are required to be constructed, but no provision for the same has been included in the project so far. Also, the project, which incurs huge costs, is envisaged at a snail’s pace, Sreedharan pointed out earlier. 

The Rs 64,000 crore SilverLine project proposes to lay a semi-high-speed rail corridor connecting Thiruvananthapuram and Kasaragod to cut down the travel time in this section to four hours.