KERELA, INDIA (Metro Rail News): Metro Man E Sreedharan said that the much-awaited Thiruvananthapuram-Kasaragod project semi high-speed train corridor (Kerela Silver Line) is a big mistake.
“The selected alignment is incorrect. From Tirur to Kasaragod, it is in line with the existing railway line. However, railways have opposed this alignment as it would have disrupted four future episodes of this episode. Thus, he added that high walls on both sides of the route should be constructed to prevent illegal entry, block freeways and drainage.
He added, “This will be the size of a Chinese wall and will separate Kerala from north to south. This is an irrational decision. The Silver Line should be away from the existing line, either high or low. There is no place in the world at high speed or high speed or underground. at a lower level. “
Sreedharan’s comments, famous for the successful construction of the Konkan Railway, Delhi Metro and Kochi Metro Rail, follow allegations by Prime Minister Pinarayi Vijayan that the opposition UDF and BJP were blocking development activities in the province over the Silver Line project. CPM politburo member Kodiyeri Balakrishnan did the same.
The K-Rail project aims at a 529.45 kilometers long railway line passing through 11 regions. According to the plan, once the work is completed, one can travel from Kasaragod to Thiruvananthapuram in less than four hours on trains travelling at speeds of up to 120 miles per hour. The current travel time on the Indian Railways network is 12 hours.
Sreedharan, who ran for election as a member of the BJP at the Palakkad rally, justified the party’s opposition to the K-Rail project, saying the government would not ride on people with false promises false cost estimates, unreasonable termination dates and erroneous technical restrictions. “Kerala is in financial trouble. How will it fund the Rs. 1.1 lakh-crore project? Impossible,” he asked.
“Yes, BJP is opposed to the Silver Line project because the current project is completely contrary to state interests for a number of reasons,” Sreedharan said.
He said the Silver Line had not yet been approved by Railways, especially the technology border gauge. Railways want this line to function as a third and fourth line to match current capacity. It does not happen with a standard gauge.
To increase revenue, RO-RO services on Silverline are scheduled for the evening. “It does not work, as night hours are required to fix it. In addition, no final location survey was performed. Completing train coordination based on Google Maps or Lidar survey is not acceptable, especially if the land acquisition is made unnecessarily. There will be a lot of changes, and part of the land acquisition will be wasted.
“No traffic research, no geotechnical research, no environmental studies and no social impact studies have been conducted.
He also pointed out that cost estimates are compressed because the line is at ground level. However, the public will not allow a high-speed line to be placed at a distance. It is significant opposition to this work, not only from the public but also from train experts, environmentalists and environmentalists.
“The semi-high-speed line located at the distance will evacuate many families. The grim reality is that more than 20,000 families will have to be relocated. The people of Kerala who are hungry for land will not accept this,” he said.
According to his estimate, the Silver Line will cost INR 75,000 crore currently and more than Rs. 1.1 lakh crore when finished. “My rating is based on the final acceptable levels of the Delhi Rapid Rail Transit System (RRTS), with a speed of 180 kmph,” he said.
In Kerala Rail Development Corporation’s request for termination of work in 2025, he said this alone shows how inexperienced the project agency is. Even the best-performing agency, such as Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, will take eight to 10 years to complete such work. The KRDCL has not started a single train on the bridge over the 27 trustees in the last five years.
Responding to CM’s allegations that the BJP was blocking development activities in Kerala, Sreedharan asked who had stopped the DMRC from launching a vital railway line from Nilambur to Nanjangud had it reduced the train distance from Shoranur to Mysuru by 471 KMs and Bengaluru by 197 KMs. The Karnataka government had allowed the DMRC to do the work. In addition, the extension of the Thrissur-Guruvayur line to Thirunavaya would resolve significant congestion in Shoranur Jn.
“Why is the same work in Kerala so slow? Because the provincial government cannot provide land. Who stopped the metro light projects in Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode initiated by the UDF government? Was the high-speed railway, launched by the VS Achuthanandan government in 2010, was shut down by anyone in 2016? Ironically, even within the LDF, many oppose the Silver Line project but do not. “Board by promising to bear the full cost of the project would be a complete mistake. Who authorized this government to make this impossible obligation? Not our Members of Parliament,” said E Sreedharan.
