Thiruvananthapuram: The Southern Railway has raised objections to the Silver Line rail project proposed by the Pinarayi Vijayan Government, stating that it cannot allocate any land for the project. As part of this, the railway authority has submitted a detailed report to the Central Railway Board, rejecting the survey measures and alignment proposed by Kerala Rail Development Corporation Ltd. (K-Rail).
The Southern Railway’s report highlights the lack of communication in finalising the alignment and states that the Silver Line will create additional liability for the railways. The objection extends to the 183 hectares of railway land demanded by K-Rail for the Silver Line project. The government and K-Rail had launched attacks from Thiruvananthapuram to Kasaragod to set up yellow stones (survey stones) for the Silver Line.
The report highlights that most of the land demanded by K-Rail was originally earmarked for railway development. The Southern Railway criticises K-Rail for not addressing the challenges associated with the demolition and reconstruction of existing railway structures, including stations, due to the Silver Line passing parallel to these buildings.
A major problem raised by the Southern Railway is that the cost of reconstruction resulting from demolitions is included in the project cost, imposing an additional liability on the railways. The report emphasises the impracticality of shifting staff quarters, service buildings, and a power distribution centre, asserting that these problems were not included in the K-Rail project report.
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