Amid controversy, Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan writes to Modi to accord sanction for Silverline project

The proposed project envisages travelling from Thiruvananthapuram to Kasaragod at a maximum speed of 200km/hr through a dedicated rail line in just four hours.
Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan. (File Photo | EPS)
Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan. (File Photo | EPS)

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking his personal intervention to accord sanction for the ambitious semi-high speed rail project of Kerala, which according to Kerala CM is "a milestone in the progress of the state." Soon after the chief minister shot off the letter, Opposition leader V D Satheeshan questioned the real interest of the state in the project. Even as the state has been facing a slew of environmental problems, the state government which goes ahead with the project, should tell what’s the priority of the government now, he told the media.   

Earlier, metro man E Sreedharan had described the much-touted Thiruvananthapuram-Kasaragod semi high-speed rail corridor or SilverLine project as an "idiotic decision."

In the letter addressed to the Prime Minister, the chief minister said the construction of the pan-India future ready railway project will catalyze massive economic growth and improve the ease of living. The Silverline Semi-high speed rail project included in the National Rail Plan was taken up with Union Railways Minister Aswini Vaishnaw who expressed concern in sanctioning the project due to the present financial position of the Indian Railways.

Based on the discussion with the Centre, Kerala has already agreed to meet the entire land acquisition cost of Rs 13,700 crore and agreed in-principle to meet the liability arising from any default on external debt obligation undertaken by the Kerala Rail Development Corporation Ltd (K-Rail) for the project. Without the land acquisition cost, the project's equity internal rate of return is 13.5 % and hence viable as per the agreement between Ministry of Railways and Kerala Government, the chief minister said while seeking the personal intervention of the Prime Minister to accord sanction for the project.

The laying of alignment stone for the proposed project in the private land has begun in the state, while the Railways and K-Rail will hold a joint inspection at the Railway land identified for the project before laying the alignment stone there. The proposed project envisages travelling from Thiruvananthapuram to Kasaragod at a maximum speed of 200km/hr through a dedicated rail line in just four hours.

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