The ₹66,079-crore 531.45-km semi-high-speed rail (SHSR) corridor from Kochuveli to Kasaragod tops the wish list of the railway projects submitted by the State to the Centre for inclusion in the 2020-2021 Union Budget.
The government has sought approval and funds for the project being executed on cost-sharing basis by the Kerala Rail Development Corporation Ltd. (KRDCL), a joint venture company between the State and Railways.
The Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the SHSR, which has been given in-principle approval by the Centre, will be submitted in the first half of the financial year, Minister for Public Works G. Sudhakaran said in the wish list submitted to Railway Minister Piyush Goyal.
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Priority projects
Development of the coaching terminal at Nemom, revamp of the Kochuveli terminal, development of abandoned terminus station at Ernakulam, Palakkad coach factory, and upgrade of eight key railway stations figure among the top priority projects.
Construction of the Angamaly-Sabarimala rail line and Guravayur-Thirunavaya line, doubling of the rail line from Ernakulam to Ambalappuzha and completion of doubling of the Ernakulam-Kayamkulam corridor via Kottayam and the Thiruvananthapuram-Kanyakumari corridor figure on the list.
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The State has sought 14 long-distance and intra- and inter-city mail and express trains, Mainline Electric Multiple Units (MEMU) for the Thiruvananthapuram and Palakkad divisions and replacement of passenger trains in the two railway divisions with MEMU services.
New trains
The demands include trains from Kochuveli to Mumbai, Malda, Guwahati, Howrah, Kamkya, Hyderabad, Velankanni and Rameshwaram via Shencottah; Shatabdi Express from Thiruvananthapuram to Kannur; new trains from Ernakulam to Velankanni, Rameswaram via Shencottah, and Vasco; Intercity Express to Salem, Kozhikode to Bengaluru; Jan Shatabdi Express from Palakkad to Thiruvananthapuram Central; and Intercity Express from Kannur to Madurai.
Increasing the frequency of four trains, extension of the Pune-Ernakulam train to Kochuveli and additional train from Nilambur to Thiruvananthapuram Central or extension of the Nilambur-Kollam passenger to Thiruvananthapuram has been demanded. New generation LHB and Utkrisht coaches have been sought in mail and express trains running through the State.