KERALA (Metro Rail News): In a big infrastructural boost for Kerala, the aerial survey to identify the alignment of Kerala’s upcoming Thiruvananthapuram-Kasargod semi-high-speed railway (SHSR) corridor project has been successfully completed. On 31 December 2019, the aerial survey began and conducted for the entire 532 km stretch up to Thiruvananthapuram.
The works for the semi-high speed railway project, named as ‘Silver Line’, which will eventually reduce the end-to-end travel time across the state of Kerala to just four hours.
The first day of the aerial survey completed in Thiruvananthapuram recently was from Kannur to Kasaragod. The technology of Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) aerial remote sensing method was utilized for the survey and was conducted on a Partenavia P68 series aircraft which took off from the Kannur International Airport (KIAL). The aerial survey was carried out by the Hyderabad-based firm GeoKno India Private Limited which had also conducted the LiDAR survey for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad high-speed bullet train project.
The Ministry of Defence, as well as the Civil Aviation Director-General, had given the clearance for the one-week-long aerial survey, followed by an approval from the Railway Ministry. V Ajith Kumar, Managing Director, Kerala Rail Development Corporation Limited (K-Rail) was quoted in the report saying that since the aerial survey has been completed, a detailed project report (DPR) can be prepared and the final location survey can be done soon. K-Rail is the implementing organisation of the Kerala SHSR project.
Kerala semi-high speed railway corridor project: Route, stations, significance
- In-principle approval for Kerala semi high-speed railway project had received the from the Central government on December 17, 2019. The SHSR project is a joint venture of the Kerala government and the Ministry of Railways.
- From Kasaragod to the Tirur town the Silver Line will run parallel to the existing railway track, and from Tirur to Thiruvananthapuram, the silver line will pass separately from the existing rail line since that stretch has several curves which will hamper the speed.
- The SHSR corridor project is expected to reduce traffic congestion on the roads, reduce pollution levels and save high costs which result from the dependence over imported oil
- The airports at Thiruvananthapuram, as well as Kochi, will be connected with the SHSR project.
- The semi-high speed corridor will have 10 stations and a proposal to build the short-distance feeder links in order to connect to other stations is also being expected.
- Meanwhile, it was reported earlier that the project is estimated to cost Rs 56,443 crore. The trains on the corridor will run at a speed of 200 km per hour and will be cutting through 11 districts.
The Elevated line will be a small proportion (11%) which is mostly to cross rivers and streams. This line will cause huge dislocation of houses and other buildings in the existing towns and villages along the line. Just last year KRDCL was telling the media and public that the entire line will be on elevated track.
As far as the fare of economy class is concerned, the fare on this Semi-High Speed Line (INR 2.75) will be about double the fare of AC III (Between 0.95 to 1.5 per kilometer).
KRDCL has not carried out any hydrological study to assess impact of the line in Floods in Kerala
The Elevated line will be a small proportion (11%) which is mostly to cross rivers and streams. This line will cause huge dislocation of houses and other buildings in the existing towns and villages along the line. Just last year KRDCL was telling the media and public that the entire line will be on elevated track.
As far as the fare of economy class is concerned, the fare on this Semi-High Speed Line (INR 2.75) will be about double the fare of AC III (Between. 95 to 1.5 per kilometer.
KRDCL has not carried out any hydrological study to assess impact of the line in Floods in Kerala
The assessment is not done properly. Instead of routing it parallel to the Kollam bypass road, a different route with more houses is proposed.