Amid what it has described as continued neglect by the Centre towards Kerala’s demands for a high-speed rail project, the LDF government has decided to move ahead with plans to implement a 583-km-long Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) as an alternative to the stalled SilverLine project.
The Kerala Transport Department on Tuesday issued orders granting in-principle approval to proceed with the proposed RRTS corridor from Thiruvananthapuram to Kasaragod. The order authorises the department to move forward with preparatory work and submit the proposal to the Central government while initiating necessary consultations to obtain mandatory clearances.
According to the order, the first phase of the project will cover the stretch from Thiruvananthapuram to Thrissur. The total cost of the project is estimated at around ₹1,92,780 crore, though the final cost “can only be determined upon completion of the Detailed Project Report (DPR), finalisation of alignments, technical models, signalling systems and transit-oriented development models”.
The entire 583-km corridor from Thiruvananthapuram to Kasaragod is proposed to be completed over a period of 12 years. Following the completion of the first phase, the line will be extended to Kasaragod in three additional phases.
The order also notes that there are plans to extend the RRTS network to Mangaluru in the north and Kanyakumari in the south. As these extensions involve other states, their feasibility will be examined through consultations and coordination with the respective state governments.
The state government’s decision comes at a time when ‘Metro Man’ E Sreedharan has stated that he has begun working on a high-speed rail project as suggested by the Centre.
After the Centre formally rejected Kerala’s ambitious and long-pending SilverLine project, the state Cabinet last week gave in-principle approval for the 583-km Regional Rapid Transit System corridor, marking a renewed push by the LDF government to establish a modern high-speed rail network in the state.