Kerala Minister for Public Works Minister G Sudhakaran has said that Silver Line, the much ambitious railway project of Kerala, connecting Thiruvananthapuram to Kasaragod through high speed trains, will soon get the nod of the Union government. The land acquisition process for the Rs 63,941-crore, a joint venture of the Railways and Kerala government, is progressing, the Minister said on Saturday.
The Silver Line corridor will connect Thiruvananthapuram to Kasaragod through trains with operational speeds of 200 km per hour, covering the 529.45-km journey in four hours. These trains will cover the busy Thiruvananthapuram-Ernakulam stretch in 90 minutes, which at present takes more than four hours.
Silver Line will run parallel to the existing railway line from Kasaragod to Tirur, while an alternative green-field alignment has been chosen for Tirur-Thiruvananthapuram stretch. The Silver Line trains will have stopovers at Kollam, Chengannur, Kottayam, Ernakulam, Thrissur, Tirur, Kozhikode, and Kannur en route to Kasaragod.
The project was first announced by the state government in 2019. It is expected to cost Rs 1,457 per person to travel the whole length from Thiruvananthapuram to Kasaragod.
Sudhakaran said the Cabinet has already given its approval to the detailed project report (DPR), submitted by implementing agency Kerala Rail Development Corporation Limited (K-Rail), a joint venture of the Indian Railways and the state government.
The DPR was prepared by Paris-based consultant Systra and submitted to the Union and the state governments for approval.
The aerial survey of the project has been already completed. The project is aimed to be completed within three years, Minister for Finance Dr Thomas Isaac had said in February. The government plans to develop a new service road also along the railway line and to develop five new townships along its way.