On first anniversary of his govt, Kerala CM affirms to implement SilverLine rail corridor

As the second LDF government celebrates its first anniversary on Friday, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan stressed the need to implement its flagship SilverLine rail corridor project saying the government is forced to consider alternate transportation facilities that are cost-effective as well as environment-friendly in view of soaring fuel prices and increasing carbon emission.

Terming the multi-crore semi-high speed rail initiative as an investment for the future of Kerala, he said the 530-km south-north corridor would help the state to overcome the hurdles on the path of its industrial growth and development.

The need for alternate transportation modes has persuaded the government to make strides in the area of rail transport along with the national highway development, coastal and hill highways, national waterway and airport development, Vijayan said in an article penned to mark the anniversary of his government.

The Chief Minister affirmed the implementation of the SilverLine at a time when the opposition parties-Congress and BJP- and local people in various parts of the state put up intense protests against the crores-worth project citing its mammoth expense and environmental and social impact.

"Steps to conduct the social impact study in the districts where the rail corridor passes through are progressing. Land acquisition cells have been formed and the landowners will get handsome compensation when their property is acquired for the project," the Chief Minister said.

The Detailed Project Report (DPR) of the SilverLine is under the consideration of the Railway Ministry and the union ministry of Finance already gave the nod to go ahead with preliminary steps, he said.

Further explaining the need to implement the ambitious project, he said that the speed limit on the state roads is much below the national average, which may create hurdles for the development of the state, especially in the industry sector.

"To overcome this barrier, we have to adopt multi-pronged strategies," the Chief Minister added. In the detailed article, he also mentioned various plans and programmes of his government to be implemented in the next four years and also pointed out the achievements in the last year.

Vijayan's statement came days after the LDF government had directed K-Rail to identify the sites to conduct a social impact assessment (SIA) study for the SilverLine project, by either the geo-tagging method or by demarcating the boundaries by marking them on permanent structures instead of laying survey stones, which has been facing stiff resistance from the public.

The direction was welcomed by the Congress-led opposition UDF as they termed it a victory of the first phase of the struggle against the semi-high speed rail corridor. The BJP, which is also opposed to the project, said the state government had to bow before public sentiment.

The 530-km long SilverLine semi-high speed rail corridor which starts from Thiruvananthapuram will have stoppages at Kollam, Chengannur, Kottayam, Ernakulam, Thrissur, Tirur, Kozhikode and Kannur before reaching Kasaragod. The entire journey from one end to the other is expected to take around four hours.