Title - Manorama Online | Suburban railway more economical than highways: Report

Thiruvananthapuram: A study has indicated that the suburban railway project was more economical than building highways in the state. The preliminary report was prepared by Food Security Commissioner Biju Prabhakar for the government.

The report said that the suburban railway project would cost only one tenth of the proposed metro and mono-rail projects. The Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation was entrusted with conducting feasibility studies on the project based on the preliminary report submitted by Prabhakar.

The report said that while metro and mono-rail projects could cost between Rs 100 to Rs 250 crores per kilometre, the suburban railway project would cost about Rs 20 crores to Rs 25 crores per kilometre. While building highways would cost about Rs 12 crores per kilometer, its costs would increase by many times considering costs for land acquisition. The report also went on to say that the first phase of the project connecting Thiruvananthapuram and Chengannur would cost a maximum of Rs 2500 crores while the 20-km monorail stretch in Thiruvananthapuram would cost about Rs 3500 crores.

The report also called for the creation of a special purpose vehicle that would bring together the state government and the railways to work on the project.