Kerala Enlists Metro Man for New Rail Project
To assess the feasibility of this new proposal, a delegation led by KM Abraham, Chief Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister, and Transport Secretary Biju Prabhakar, held informal discussions with renowned engineer E Sreedharan, widely known as Metro Man of India, at his residence in Ponnani.
Earlier, Sreedharan had met with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, offering his expertise for the project. The proposed rail corridor, which is planned to run on elevated tracks and through tunnels, is designed to reduce the need for large-scale land acquisition. The 430 km stretch will feature 15 stations, spaced approximately 25 to 30 km apart, with trains reaching speeds of up to 200 km/h.
Sreedharan has consistently argued that the SilverLine project, which would require extensive land acquisition and displace many residents, is not feasible. He recommended that the Kerala government entrust the preparation of the Detailed Project Report (DPR) for this new route to either the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) or Indian Railways.
The Kerala government is keen to move ahead with the project, provided it receives approval from the Centre for conducting a survey and establishing a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV). Consultations with the central government have already begun.
Sreedharan pointed out that the new project would benefit both long- and short-distance travellers. He also emphasised that adding third and fourth tracks or straightening existing curves for speed increases were not feasible due to the current railway infrastructure, and operating passenger and freight trains on the same tracks posed safety concerns.
The final alignment for this new track will be determined separately from the earlier proposed Thiruvananthapuram-Kannur high-speed corridor in DMRC's DPR.