Former Railway Board member Subodh Jain, however, refuted Menon’s suggestion, saying straightening of curves on the existing railway lines would be impossible.
Published: 29th April 2022 07:24 AM | Last Updated: 29th April 2022 07:24 AM | A+ A A-
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The state government and K-Rail should find alternatives to SilverLine and explore the possibility of laying third and fourth lines parallel to the existing railway tracks in Kerala after straightening the curves, noted environmentalist RVG Menon said on Thursday.
Former Railway Board member Subodh Jain, however, refuted Menon’s suggestion, saying straightening of curves on the existing railway lines would be impossible. “In my 38 years with the Railways, not even one curve was ever realigned,” said Jain.
They were speaking at a debate organised by K-Rail on the Left government’s ambitious semi high-speed rail project in the state capital. The three panelists who spoke in favour of the project insisted it would boost the state’s economic activity and reduce accidents. They agreed on the lapses that need to be addressed. Jain went on to say that, going by the current assessment, there will be a minimum 20% cost escalation to the Rs 64,000-crore project. Menon pointed out certain issues related to the existing lines.
“Currently, there are 626 curves on the existing railway line. High-speed trains cannot run on such a track. We should explore the possibility of third and fourth lines and modify the signalling system. Taking over the land adjacent to the one owned by railways will be easier, as people will be relatively more willing to give consent and the cost too will be less,” said Menon. Standard gauge would prevent interoperability, he added.
Jain said the Centre had taken a policy decision in 2017 in favour of standard gauge and found it essential for speedy travel.
View SilverLine as futuristic project, says Railway expert
Jain said SilverLine should be viewed as a futuristic project. It can act as a feeder service, if linked with the high-speed network, he said. Panellists Kuncheria P Isaac and Raghuchandran Nair stressed on the increase in road accidents. The state has around 4,000 people dying in accidents every year, they said. Going by the 2019 statistics, vehicle density in Kerala is 425 per 1,000 people.
Road development in Kerala is not in line with vehicle density, they added. Raghuchandran said stonelaying should be done, but only after taking people into confidence. Referring to the incident in which the officials tried to lay a stone in the kitchen of a house, he said such incidents should be avoided. Kuncheria stressed on the scope for embankments to be replaced with viaducts.
Menon was highly critical of the chief minister’s remark that the project would be implemented at any cost. “This debate should have been held 3-4 years ago. Now what’s the point in holding such a discussion after saying that the project would be held at any cost?” he asked. Mohan A Menon, a former professor at National Academy of Indian Railways, was the moderator.
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