Daijiworld Media Network - Kasargod (MS)

Kasargod, Dec 19: It seems the transport issues of the state of Kerala will be resolved with the new joint venture between the government of Kerala and the central railway ministry. Semi-High Speed Rail (SHSR) is an ambitious project, which is called 'Silver Line', that will run between Kasargod and the state capital Thiruvananthapuram.

According to PTI, if all goes well, it will take just four hours to reach Thiruvananthapuram from Kasargod and vice versa instead of the present 12 hours. K-Rail (Kerala Rail Development Corporation) will implement this double line project that is 540 km long. In addition, a proposal is already with the railway ministry, which is sent by the corporation, for the laying of third and fourth tracks between the two cities.

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This project will improve the economy of God's Own Country by leaps and bounds as the travel will be much easier and faster as per the information given by V Ajith Kumar, MD of KRDCL. According to Ajith, this approval of silver line by the central government is a milestone in the railway history of Kerala.

This project, which will generate job for 50,000 people, is estimated to cost Rs 56,443 crore in the beginning. But on its completion, it may go up to Rs 66,079 crore. 11,000 people will get permanent employment once the SHSR project is completed. This line will allow the trains to reach speeds of 200 km per hour passing through 11 districts of the state. Another highlight is that this project will be completed with very minimum of acquisition of land.

The project is environment friendly as it will use solar power for energy. The construction equipment used will be of low emission. Concrete and steel will be reused in this laying of the lines, which will also promote urban forestry programme. This line will also be a major line for freight movement in the state, in addition to providing service to businessmen, professionals and other commuters, who need to reach both the destinations without any loss of time.