Five new townships are to be developed as part of the 531.45-km ambitious Semi-High-Speed Railway line (SHSR) from Thiruvananthapuram to Kasaragod that will traverse 11 districts of the State, except Alappuzha, Idukki and Wayanad.
Thiruvanathapuram, Kollam, Kottayam, Ernakulam and Thrissur are the townships identified by the Kerala Railway Development Corporation Limited (KRDCL), the special purpose vehicle set up to execute ‘viable’ railway projects on cost-sharing basis between the Kerala government and Indian Railways.
The new townships will be near the Silver Line stations in the SHSR corridor and tenders had been floated to award the consultancy to take the project forward, official sources told The Hindu .
If the needed suitable land cannot be found close to the places identified for the Silver Line stations, the new townships will be developed in places where land is available.
In townships that have to be developed away from the Silver Line stations, connectivity will be provided by the KRDCL.
Green project
The authorities are considering even introducing electric vehicles as the Silver Line project is to be implemented as a Green project.
The KRDCL is of the view that planned urban development of the cities along the corridor and development of new cities down the SHSR line can derive benefits for the socio-economic development in the regions served by the Silver Line.
Last-mile connectivity with system-driven e-vehicle public transport system, multi-modal integration, charging and parking stations, which would take Kerala to the next generation of urban mobility, are some of the key features of the Silver Line.
Only 1,226.45 hectares would have to be acquired for the ambitious ₹56,443 crore SHSR corridor that will be away from the existing railway line in the 300-km Kochuveli-Shoranur section and parallel to the existing line from Thirunavaya to Kasaragod with railway bypasses at Vadakara and Thalaserry.
Railway land
The Railways have agreed to make available the unused land of 200 acres with them in the corridors where the SHSR runs parallel to the existing line.
The KRDCL can also look forward to the idle land with the railways for developing the townships.
The selected consultancy firm will be tasked to identify the land.
