Project to be commissioned by March 2020: Balakrishnan
T. Balakrishnan, Chairman and Managing Director of Kerala High Speed Rail Corporation Ltd, said in Kochi on Wednesday that only 1, 600 to 1, 700 families needed to be evicted along the 200-km stretch of the proposed high-speed rail corridor from Thiruvananthapuram to Ernakulam.
In an interview to The Hindu on the sidelines of the ‘Emerging Kerala’ event here on Wednesday, Mr. Balakrishnan termed ‘baseless’ reports that about 15,000 families would have to be evicted for the project. “Only 250 hectares is required for setting up the track up to Ernakulam. The estimate is that we need to remove only two-and-a-half households per acre for the project. We are going away from populated areas,” he said.
Explaining that the high-speed track with a width of 20 metres would be equivalent to a nine-lane highway, Mr. Balakrishnan said the project envisaged tunnels in urban areas for laying the track. There would be no level-crossing and pathways across the tracks. Pointing out that Japan’s JICA would fund 80 per cent of the estimated Rs.1,20,000 crore project cost, Mr. Balakrishnan said the Centre and the State would have to meet the remaining 20 per cent cost.
The project is scheduled to take off by April next and fully commissioned by March 2020. Each train on the route will have eight coaches (six motorised coaches and two trailers attached to the motorised coaches at both ends). They will carry 817 passengers per trip.
The preliminary works on the proposed high-speed rail corridor linking Thiruvananthapuram with Mangalore are expected to begin by March, 2013. The first phase of the project — the Thiruvananthapuram-Kochi link — is expected to be ready in five-and-a-half years. Mr. Balakrishnan said the ticket rates would be reasonable.
The project will displace several thousands of people while only a few can afford the high priced ticket. (Air travel seems to be cheaper.) Then whose interest is served? I think the political elite already have lined their pockets with Japanese money and that is this all about.
If the government wants to alleviate traffic woes what they have to do is to make roads in Kerala drivable and safe for pedestrians. A first step would be converting NH1 similar to Highway 85 in Tamil Nadu with four lanes, median barrier and 6” raised foot paths on both sides. Besides gaining large savings in fuel cost, this will reduce injuries and loss of life. Next step should be to convert all the important roads to a pedestrian friendly design. With the explosive growth in number of cars on the street, pedestrians pay the highest price, many times with their own lives. Properly designed streets can reduce casualty rates to a minimum. If the government is for the people, then drop this project for the rich
To me, this is an amazing stupidity. All the existing high speed systems in the world are losing money. They survive only because their governments pouring money into it. I wonder where government of Kerala is going to find the extra money when 90% of the state’s revenue is spent on salaries and pension.
If the loan of 96000 crore is amortized for 30 years at an interest rate of 1.4%,DMRC's rate, monthly payment will be 326.7 crore for 30 years, that is 10.9 crore per day for 30 years.
At the rate of, say, Rs 2000 per ticket, HSR have to sell 54455 tickets per day to just pay off the loan. At the rate of 817 passengers per trip, this means over 67 runs at full capacity every day. Operational & maintenance cost will be extra. But don’t forget the freebies to be doled out for employees, politicians etc. Also, Kerala is the worst chaotic place on earth ruled by MOBOCRACY. With all the hartals,agitations & electric power failures,it is going to be a hell-bound journey for Kerala HSR
The report that only 1700 families need be evicted for the project has
grossly underestimated the impact of the project on social life of
Kerala. The state will witness the largest eviction in its history if
the project is executed. The project is not confined to just 200 km
Ernakulam-Thiruvanathapuram segment. It is 526 km long connecting
Mangalapuram.In its execution, the project will evict thousands of
families across Kerala at a time when housing is beyond the reach of
common man. The estimate based on assumption of 2.5 families per acre
is wrong. The alignment goes through densely populated areas. The
fares cannot be expected to be within the reach of common man
considering the huge expenditure involved.
Not sure what Mr. Balakrishnan meant by saying a 20m is equivalent to 9 lane highway. What Kerala needs the most is not more airports or a fancy high speed train. Top priority should be accorded to multi lane highways across the length of the state. When you are building your economy, good roads are of paramount importance. Look at the impact of Interstate highways in US, Autobahns of Germany and closer home highways in Gujarat. These projects show the impact good roads make to the economic development od a region.
A 2 track railway really cannot be accurately described as being the "equivalent of a 9 lane highway"!
For planning purposes, a 20m strip has been used.
In reality, the width will be the pair of tracks plus landscaping, noise barriers and occasional embankments.
In Karukutty (near Angamaly, Ernakulam dist), the HSR alignment is passing through very highly populated area, religious places. BUT if we check in Google map ( or on ground)we can see lot of empty lands ( wet lands) 200 meters East or 200 meters west side of the existing alignment. There we can get straight line in kilometers as well without affecting any houses ( only very few). We dont know, why it is not noticed during teh marking and as per Mr. T Balakrishnan:- alignment going away from populated areas and its a very positive step and we beleive that above mentioned place also re-consider the exsisting alignment. Please convey this request to the concerned. Please make changes to avoid houses , religous places. Thanks.
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