Kerala Sanctions Ambitious ‘Silver Line’ High Speed Rail Project
The Kerala government has approved an ambitious ?66,000 cr semi-high speed rail project, called 'Silver Line', seen as a game-changer project to recast infrastructure and economic development. The project could cut down travel time from its northern tip, Kasargod district, to the southernmost district Thiruvananthapuram, to just 4 hours from 12 hours using the existing Indian Railway trains. The project is the biggest one the communist government has announced in its term. The state will approach financial institutions and nationalised banks to raise funds for the project's land procurement, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said. Loans will be also made through Japan International Corporation Agency (JICA), German state-owned bank KfW Group, Asian Development Bank (ADB), Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), he said. The path will be built in a 531 km distance between Thiruvananthapuram and Kasargod. The trains would run as fast as 180-200 kilometers per hour. There will be nine bogies, which can carry 645 passengers at a time. There will be two kind of classes, business and standard. The project is expected to finish by 2025. Including Kochi airport, there will be 11 stations.
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