Centre not in favour of SilverLine says metroman Sreedharan proposes alternative rail project

Palakkad (Kerala), Mar 22 (PTI) The Kerala government's ambitious semi-high-speed rail project, SilverLine, will not materialise as the Centre is not in favour of it, Metroman E Sreedharan said on Saturday.
    Speaking to reporters here, Sreedharan stated that he had proposed an alternative semi-high-speed rail project, which both the Kerala government and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan appreciated.
    While the chief minister and the government were convinced about the alternative proposal, they are unable to acknowledge it, as doing so would require them to abandon the SilverLine project, which carries political ramifications, he claimed.
    Sreedharan emphasised that his proposal had a better chance of implementation in the state, as it would have a lower environmental impact, minimal public resistance, and fewer land acquisition challenges since the line would be built underground or elevated.
    "We will only need to acquire a 20-meter-wide strip of land, and once the work is completed, some portions can be returned to the owners for planting crops or grazing animals. However, no houses can be built there," he explained.
    For the alternative project to move forward, the state government must first set aside its ambitious SilverLine project, Sreedharan added.
    "The two projects cannot run parallel due to various reasons, including financial constraints," he added.
    He further stated that the rail project must be undertaken as a central government initiative rather than a state government project. "Only then will it receive the necessary funding and progress swiftly," he said.
    According to Sreedharan, the state government would hold a 49 per cent stake in the proposed project.
    Once the state government approves his alternative proposal, a Detailed Project Report (DPR) must be prepared for the Centre’s approval.
    "For drafting the DPR, I would prefer utilising the services of the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), as they had previously prepared a similar report in 2016 and already possess the requisite data. This would expedite the process," he said.
    The ambitious K-Rail semi-high-speed rail project, known as SilverLine, proposed by Kerala's Left government, aimed to cover a 530-kilometre stretch from Thiruvananthapuram in the south to Kasaragod in the north at an estimated cost of around Rs 64,000 crore.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)