With 200 kmph trains, Kerala semi-high speed railway line will be a big boon; here’s how

For Kerala that runs like a thin strip along the Malabar coast in the southern part of India, the Semi High Speed Rail (SHSR) project or the Silver Line promises to change the way its residents travel from one part of the state to the other. Connecting capital Thiruvananthapuram at the southern tip of the state to Kasaragod, at its northern end – a distance of 532 km – the trains, travelling at 200 km per hour, would bring down the journey’s duration to less than four hours from the 12-14 hours at present.

The Kerala Rail Development Corporation Ltd (K-RAIL), a joint venture company set up by the state government and the Ministry of Railways to execute the Rs 66,079-crore project, has completed the aerial survey for the rail link which would pass through 11 districts, with a detailed report and the alignment plan likely to be prepared next month.

Says K-Rail Managing Director V Ajith Kumar, “the project will change the way people travel in the state. The existing road and rail links don’t allow for high speeds given the existence of sharp curves along the way. This and the large number of level crossings see trains clocking a low average speed of 35-40 kmph.

Therefore, the likelihood of travellers shifting from the road and existing rail links to SHSR is very high”.

The Silver Line would also reduce congestion by taking about 7,500 vehicles off the state’s roads and bring down pollution levels. K-Rail has estimated that around 46,100 daily road users and 11,500 train commuters would shift to the new link once it is operationalised. This would result in estimated savings of Rs 530 crore on fuel costs at current prices. As many as 500 trucks would be taken off the highways owing to the ‘RORO’ service the Silver Line would offer for freight movement, the company has said.

As far as the alignment of the proposed line is concerned, 40% of the 532-km length would run parallel to existing railway lines. Around 11% of the stretch is expected to be on elevated tracks. The executing agency is especially considering an elevated alignment for cities, given the high cost of urban land.

Kumar is confident of procuring funds for the project, highlighting that though financial closure was yet to be achieved, most of the multilateral agencies that had been approached were positive about its prospects. “With a debt component of 52%, we are looking at multilateral funding agencies like the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), KfW of Germany and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. We have equity from the Ministry of Railways and the Kerala government. We are also actively looking at some private equity from individual segments like NRIs.”

On land acquisition, Kumar points out that the state government, which would be procuring land for the project, was positive on the issue not posing a challenge. “There will be resistance from some quarters but the feedback from the ground level suggests people are eager to have a better transport system in place”. According to the feasibility report, 1,226 hectares of land would be needed in all.

The rail company has proposed completing the project by 2024. “If we get all the approvals in 2020, we would need two years to acquire land, with tenders being prepared in tandem. From then on, two years would be sufficient for construction work,” he holds.