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Kerala’s SilverLine Project

  • Posted By
    10Pointer
  • Categories
    Polity & Governance
  • Published
    25th Dec, 2021

Protests are taking place across Kerala against SilverLine, a semi high-speed railway project that envisages trains running at 200 km/h between the state’s northern and southern ends.

Context

Protests are taking place across Kerala against SilverLine, a semi high-speed railway project that envisages trains running at 200 km/h between the state’s northern and southern ends.

What is the SilverLine project?

  • The proposed45-km line will link Thiruvananthapuram in the south to Kasaragod in the north, covering 11 districts through 11 stations.
  • KRDCL, or K-Rail, is a joint venture between the Kerala government and the Union Ministry of Railways created to execute this project.
  • The deadline for the project, being executed by the Kerala Rail Development Corporation Limited (KRDCL), is 2025.
  • The line will also reduce greenhouse emissions, help in expansion of Ro Ro services, produce employment opportunities, integrate the airport and its corridors also. 

Features of the Project

  • The project will have trains of electric multiple unit (EMU) type, each with preferably nine cars expandable to 12.
  • A nine-car rake can seat a maximum of 675 passengers in business and standard class settings.
  • The trains can run at a maximum speed of 220 km/hr on a standard gauge track, completing journeys in either direction in fewer than four hours.
  • At every 500 metres, there will be under-passages with service roads.

Issues with the Project

  • Political rhetoric: All political parties have been spearheading separate protests.
  • Huge capital requirement: They argue that the project was an “astronomical scam in the making” and would sink the state further into debt.
  • Displacement of families: The project was financially unviable and would lead to the displacement of over 30,000 families.
  • Ecological damage: It would cause great environmental harm as its route cuts through precious wetlands, paddy fields and hills.
  • Flood hazard: The building of embankments on either side of the major portion of the line will block natural drainage and cause floods during heavy rains.



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