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.
