Kochi: The Kerala Rail Development Corporation, a joint venture of the railways and the state government, is planning a Rs 55, 000-crore semi-high speed rail project.
It will start work on the track connecting Thiruvananthapuram with Kasargod by next year and complete in seven years.
In his budget speech on Thursday, finance minister Dr T. M. Thomas Isaac said the government “agreed (to) the suggestion of a new Greenfield track for medium speed trains."
“The new North-South rail line will be an independent elevated double line from the existing rail line.” The 515 km-line will facilitate trains operate at a speed of up to 180 kmph with the travelling time getting reduced to four hours. However, it will connect to the existing line only at Thiruvananthapuram and Kasargod.
A senior KRDCL official clarified that the project explores the possibility of third and fourth lines “as much as possible”.
“The rail corridor will be partly elevated on the stretches where land acquisition is not possible. The aim is to keep the construction cost to the minimum,” he said.
The state government earlier scrapped the high-speed rail corridor project after finding it not feasible.
We aim to submit the detailed project report in six months. A French company ‘Systra’ is currently involved in the work. The third and fourth lines will be designed with minimum curvatures,” he said.
The minister noted that the project is vital given the nearly 10 per cent increase in road traffic every year.
“Both foreign loans and domestic fund mobilisation sources will be utilised for this. The construction can be completed in seven years,” he said in his budget speech.
