Ahead of Union Budget 2021-22, Kerala has sought 12 new intercity and long distance trains for the state. The state has also sought the Union government’s nod for semi high speed rail line SilverLine from Kochuveli to Kasaragod. The dream project of the state is estimated to cost around Rs 63,941 crore.
The state has also demanded a Mainline Electric Multiple Unit (MEMU) in Thiruvananthapuram and Palakkad divisions. The state has also asked the Union government to increase the frequency of existing MEMU trains.
The Hindu reports that the state has sought allocation for a rail coach factory in Palakkad, a project which was dropped in 2018. Also on Kerala’s wish-list that has been sent to the Union government is a coaching terminal at Nemom of Thiruvananthapuram, upgrade the Kochuveli terminal, a coaching terminal in Ponnuruni of Kochi and also to restart the Angamaly-Erumeli Sabari Rail project.
As per the Hindu, Thiruvananthapuram Central-Kannur-Shatabdi Express, Kozhikode-Bengaluru Intercity, Palakkad-Thiruvananthapuram Central Jan Shatabdi Express, Ernakulam-Salem Intercity, Daily Express between Kochuveli and Mumbai via Kottayam, Konkan, Kochuveli-Malda,Guwahati, Howrah, Kamakhya Daily, Kochuveli-Hyderabad Daily, Kochuveli-Velankanni weekly, Kochuveli-Rameswaram via Shengotta weekly, Vasco-Ernakulam Daily, Vasco-Nagercoil via Thiruvananthapuram Central weekly, and Kannur-Madurai Intercity daily via Pollachi are the new trains sought by the state.
The state also demanded an increase in the frequency of some long distance trains. The SilverLine semi high speed train project of Kerala was slated to be constructed along a 529.45 kilometer stretch.
The Ministry of Railways had given in-principle approval for the project. The train would be designed to run at a speed up to 250 kilometers per hour. It was reported that the train would take around three to four hours to reach Kasaragod from Kochuveli, compared to other trains which take about 12 to 13 hours.
The Kerala government has also said the SilverLine will be constructed by using vacant land in less populated areas. Last week Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had said that only 9,314 buildings will be affected by Silverline and 88 km of paddy fields will be elevated. He had said that the impact of the project will be minimal.