Hardly a week after Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw expressed doubts if Kerala had abandoned the SilverLine semi-high-speed rail project, the State has written to the Minister seeking approval for the project, citing high occupancy rate on the newly introduced Vande Bharat trains between Thiruvananthapuram and Kasaragod.
The letter written by K.V. Thomas, special representative of Kerala in New Delhi, noted that the high occupancy rate on the Vande Bharat trains in the State, which was the highest occupancy rate among all such trains in the country, highlighted the aspirations and demand of the people to have a faster transport system. The introduction of the two pairs of Vande Bharat trains had badly affected the schedules of existing train services, as reported by the passengers.
Hence, there was demand and justification for two additional railway lines from Thiruvananthapuram to Kasaragod for high-speed travel. Considering the demand for a high-speed and safe rail transportation system in the State, the Union government should grant approval for the SilverLine project, the letter said.
It also noted that Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in this regard three times in the past.
In a letter dated November 1, 2023, the Railway Ministry had directed the General Manager, Southern Railway, to hold discussions with the Kerala Rail Development Corporation Limited (KRDCL) and give comments on the details submitted by the corporation, a joint venture company between the Ministry of Railways and the Government of Kerala. It was still under process at the Southern Railway, the letter said.
Speaking to the media after the Union Budget 2024-25 presentation, Mr. Vaishnaw had asked whether the project had not been abandoned by the Kerala government. He also said that Kerala had not shown any keen interest in following it up, and the State government should be asked if the project had been abandoned.
