Title - Kerala seek help of Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation for its own Suburban Local Network

Thiruvananthapuram:  God’s Own Country plans to set up a suburban railway system along the lines of Mumbai’s network and it has asked the Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation (MRVC) to help it in this regard.

The Kerala government has hired the services of MRVC to prepare a detailed project report for a suburban service it plans to operate from the state capital Thiruvananthapuram, northwards to Chengannur and Haripad, a distance of 126 km.

The route length is comparable to the Churchgate-Dahanu or CST-Khopoli routes. It is estimated that the project would cost about Rs3,500 crore at current prices and is to be funded by the state and the railway ministry.

This decision was taken by the Kerala Cabinet following an elaborate presentation MRVC made to the chief minister Oommen Chandy and a group of state officials recently. Shashi Tharoor, member of Parliament from Thiruvananthapuram and some state ministers also attended the meeting.

The MRVC team was led by managing director Rakesh Saksena. The corporation will earn about Rs11 crore for this project report.

MRVC officials said that their agency was the obvious choice as it has been overseeing the modernisation of the Mumbai suburban rail system under the Mumbai Urban Transport Project. The agency is awaiting a written order from the Kerala government for this work.

There is already a rail line on the Thiruvananthapuram-Haripad section that has 25 stations. Railway officials say that the more than 80 level crossings on the route would be a tough hurdle to negotiate.

The state has set up a steering committee with the chief secretary as chairman to deal with these matters. Southern Railway and MRVC officials are also on this committee.

Kerala has a number of international airports, but its railway system has not developed to cope with the increase in traffic. Large stretches of the rail network are single lines and not electrified. The state has felt the need for a suburban system to carry a growing number of daily officegoers on the western stretch.

On the fast track

Kerala plans to upgrade the route from Thiruvananthapuram to Chengannur and Haripad. The route length is comparable to the Churchgate-Dahanu or CST-Khopoli lines.