Thiruvananthapuram, Feb 14 (IANS): An all-party meeting Monday showed the green signal to the Kerala government's proposal to build a 560-km high speed rail link between Thiruvananthapuram and Mangalore in Karnataka at a cost of Rs.118,000 crore.

According to Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, the project was found viable in the first report prepared by the Delhi Metro Rail Corp (DMRC).

A preliminary report said that the distance would be covered in 124 minutes with five stops on the route. If the number of stops was increased to eight, then the travel time would be 156 minutes. Currently, it takes around 14 hours to cover the distance.

The proposed project's first stage, up to Kochi, is proposed to be ready in five years. The entire corridor is proposed to be ready by 2020.

At the end of the meeting, it was decided to organise another all-party meeting which would discuss threadbare all aspects of the project, after the DMRC filed more details.

"The land that needs to be acquired would be around 1,000 acre. We would have a proper scheme for the 4,500 families who would have to be evicted," said Chandy.

Leader of Opposition V.S. Achuthanandan wanted the government to ensure that all aspects with regards to the funding of the project and rehabilitation of the affected families should be clearly laid down.