Title - Kerala to form SPV for suburban rail service from Thiruvananthapuram to Chengannur, Harippad

The Kerala Government has decided to form a special purpose vehicle (SPV) for the proposed suburban rail service connecting Thiruvananthapuram with Chengannur and Harippad.   This was decided at a meeting of senior railway officials chaired by Chief Minister Oommen Chandy here yesterday, an official press release said.   The government plans to start the service close on the heels of the completion of the doubling of railway lines on these two routes, it said.   Mr Chandy said Kerala should also get the benefit of the Railways' Suburban Corridor project and adequate measures should be taken for the purpose.   The suburban rail service will be implemented jointly by the Centre and the State.    The SPV formed will undertake works pertaining to setting up of automatic signaling system and modernization of stations.    The project would incur an expenditure of Rs 3500 crores, which will be funded by the Word Bank. The per kilometer work rate has been estimated at an average of Rs 20 crores.   Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation would be asked to prepare the Detailed Project Report, which is expected by the end of December this year, the release added.   Briefing reporters after a meeting of the State Cabinet today, Mr Chandy said Rs 10.99 crore had been sanctioned for the Detailed Project Report.   He said a five-member Joint Steering Committee has been formed with Chief Secretary Bharat Bhushan as chairman and S Anantharaman, Chief Safety Officer, Southern Railway, Rajesh Agarwal, Divisional Railway Manager, Southern Railway and Ravi Agarwal, Executive Director, Planning at Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation as members. Mr Biju Prabhakaran will be nodal officer and convener of the committee.      Mr Chandy said the Kerala Government and the Central Government would have 50:50 stakes in the SPV.   As part of the project, an automatic signaling system will come into place and about 25 stations will undergo modernization. No land acquisition is involved.   As part of the operations, 10 MEMU trains, each having seven coaches, will be used.   In the suburban rail service, trains can approach and leave stations at 60 km/hr and thus save time on stoppage, he said.   The government has also suggested to the Southern Railway to commence high-speed train service in the Malabar region, where the doubling works of railway line would be over in a month’s time.