ON THE WRONG TRACK?

The project is mired in controversy due to its high cost and supposed ecological damage. But the High Court has allowed the government to conduct a survey and mark the properties affected by it

- Abhilash Kumar Singh

KERALA'S SilverLine project, a 529.45-km rail corridor connecting Thiruvananthapuram and Kasaragod with an operating speed of 200kmph, was meant to ease transport between the northern and southern parts of the state. Instead, it has now become a flashpoint for controversies.

Kerala Rail Development Corporation (K-Rail) is a joint venture between the Kerala government and the Indian Railways. The latter holds a 49% equity share in K-Rail Corporation. As a result, the Railways is concerned over sharing the overseas loan liabilities of the project.

The project, first announced 12 years ago, claimed it would reduce total travel time to less than four hours, compared to the present 10 to 12 hours between the two cities. With nine cars carrying 675 passengers, the train will run 18 trips daily. And it is expected to bring in Rs 2,256 crore from ticket fares, with a daily ridership of 79,934 commuters.

As per the detailed project report prepared in 2020 by Paris-headquartered Systra, the estimated cost of the project is around Rs 64,000 crore. However, recently, a Kerala High Court bench set aside a single bench order staying a land survey in connection with the social impact assessment for the project.