The Hindu Business Line : Rlys plans feasibility study on high-speed corridors

The Railways has assured Kerala Government that the foundation stone for the rail bogey unit at Cherthala in Alappuzha district will be laid within a couple of months.

Thiruvananthapuram June 7 The Railways will conduct a feasibility study on operating `bullet train' services in the Thiruvananthapuram-Kochi-Chennai-Mangalore sectors.

A high-level delegation from the Railway Board, headed by the Chairman, Mr J.B. Batra, held talks with the Chief Minister, Mr V.S. Achuthanandan, in this regard here on Thursday.

The Chief Minister later told newspersons that the proposed train would have an average speed of 250 km an hour in the Thiruvananthapuram-Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram-Mangalore and Thiruvananthapuram-Chennai sectors.

Cost estimates

Mr Batra said the project involved laying special tracks and the Railways had prepared a broad financial package projecting a cost of Rs 45 crore per kilometre. The project is planned to be implemented through public-private partnership with the Railways, state governments and private players as stake-holders. The Centre will be approached for viability gap funding.

Mr Batra said that the proposal was to commercially exploit the land at various terminals to raise funds for the project. It was expected that the venture would start earning revenue within 10 years, he added.

Mr Batra pointed out that the project was feasible in any sector with high passenger traffic. The land required was minimal given the nature of the project and there would be fewer level crossings. Besides, it was eco-friendly.

Rail bogey unit

Mr Achuthanandan said that the Railways had assured the State Government that the foundation stone for the proposed rail bogey unit at Cherthala in Alappuzha district would be laid within a couple of months. Also, work on the Electric Multiple Unit workshop at Kollam will begin soon.

The delegation also discussed with Government officials issues relating to the speeding up of doubling of track in the Kayamkulam-Alappuzha, Ernakulam-Kayamkulam (via Kollam) and Mangalore-Shoranur routes. The Government was informed that the work on the Kottayam-Alappuzha route would be completed at the earliest.