RailEnquiry

Speaking on the viability of the high-speed rail corridor in the state, DMRC principal advisor E Sreedharan said that the land acquisition will not be much of an issue. He pointed out that the feasibility report of the project will be submitted to the government by December. “The implementation of the high-speed rail project in the state will not be a huge problem like what people fear. Land acquisition will only take place so as to acquire the space for setting up the pillars,” said Sreedharan. The Rs 1,18,000 crore project is also expected to carry the country’s first bullet train. “The capacity of the corridor is equivalent to nine one-way lanes of a highway. It will also be one of the fastest forms of transport,” he said. The trains will travel at a speed of 350 km/hr. A unique feature of the project is that the land owners will not have to completely surrender the land for the project. “Unlike the other railway projects, we will not take over the ownership of the land from the individual. We will give them the money for the land required to set up the pillars. The rest of the land can be used for either farming or other personal use, except for building a house,” he said. On the practical aspects of implementing the project, he said that if Japanese funding is available, the work on the corridor can be easily started.