SilverLine rail corridor | Every effort will be made to lessen project’s impact: Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan

Reiterating that there is no going back on the Thiruvananthapuram-Kasargod SilverLine semi-high speed rail project, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said every effort will be made to lessen the project

Reiterating that there is no going back on the Thiruvananthapuram-Kasargod SilverLine semi-high speed rail project, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said every effort will be made to lessen the project’s impact, for which a study is underway to lessen the number of (9,000 odd) buildings that ought to be taken over.

Alternatives suggested like increasing the speed of trains by straightening the over 600 curves on the existing railway network will not yield the desired result, since that could entail more land acquisition than for SilverLine, on a densely built corridor, he said, at an outreach programme on the proposed rail corridor, hosted in Kochi on January 6.

Referring to concerns of large-scale flooding on either side of the 530 km corridor which is estimated to cost ₹63, 941 cr, he said a hydrographic survey is on to assess this, wherein the high water marks of floods and high tide during the past century will be considered. The existing railway line too is built on an embankment, he said, referring to concerns of SilverLines embankment causing flooding.