E. Sreedharan opens office for high-speed rail project at Ponnani

Veteran technocrat and former Konkan Railway chairperson E. Sreedharan on Monday opened an office for a proposed high-speed rail project linking the southern and northern ends of Kerala, a plan he said is under consideration by the Union government.

Mr. Sreedharan’s wife Radha inaugurated the office at his hometown Ponnani by lighting the traditional lamp. Mr. Sreedharan claimed that he had been asked by Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw to prepare a detailed project report (DPR) for the proposed ₹1 lakh-crore high-speed rail corridor.

Mr. Sreedharan, widely called Metro Man, said he would proceed with work on the rail project from Monday itself, arguing that waiting for an official declaration from the Union government would result in a loss of valuable time. He had said last week that the Centre would soon announce the project, which aims to connect all four airports in the State.

He said his team would begin examining the 24 locations where stations have been proposed along the high-speed rail route, including the two termini. He said the project survey would be conducted with complete transparency, taking the people into confidence.

Mr. Sreedharan’s move has been viewed with scepticism by the State government and non-BJP parties, particularly since the Central government did not mention the project in its Budget presented on Sunday.

The State government maintains that it is for the Central government or the Union Railway Ministry to announce such an ambitious project, not an individual like Mr. Sreedharan, who had contested the 2021 Assembly election on the BJP ticket from Palakkad but narrowly lost to Congress leader Shafi Parambil.

‘In five years’

The State government, as well as leaders of both the Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the United Democratic Front (UDF), views Mr. Sreedharan’s move as a bluff driven by political motives, with the Kerala Assembly elections approaching.

According to Mr. Sreedharan, the high-speed rail project to be completed in five years by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) will be an alternative to the State government’s SilverLine or K-Rail project promoted by the LDF.

With trains operating at speeds of up to 200 kmph, travel time from Thiruvananthapuram to Kochi will be around one hour and 20 minutes, while Kozhikode can be reached in two-and-a-half hours and Kannur in three hours and 15 minutes.

Minimal land acquisition

He said nearly 70% of the new rail line would be elevated and about 20% underground. Only bare minimum land would be acquired, and landowners would be allowed to continue agricultural activities once the pillars are constructed, though the construction of buildings and the planting of large trees would not be permitted.

The proposed stops are Thiruvananthapuram Central, Thiruvananthapuram Airport, Varkala, Kollam, Kottarakara, Adoor, Chengannur, Kottayam, Vaikom, Ernakulam, Aluva, Nedumbassery, Thrissur, Kunnamkulam, Edappal, Tirur, Karipur, Kozhikode, Koyilandy, Vadakara, Thalassery, and Kannur.

The construction cost is estimated at approximately ₹200 crore a kilometre.