UPDATED on 1st July 2020
The state government of Kerala is all set to make a big push for its ambitious ‘Silver Line’ project. The 532 kilometres, 200 kph capable Semi High-Speed Railway line has been in the works for a more than a decade.
The Silver Line aims to reduce travel time between Thiruvananthapuram and Kasargod to less than four hours. The fastest train today covers the same route in a little over nine hours. Cost of the project was estimated to be Rs. 66,000 crores. If on time, the project was planned for completion by 2024.
In Mid-April 2020, engineering consulting firm Systra submitted the Detailed Project Report to Kerala State Government. The report expects the project to cost approx Rs. 63,941 crores. Project completion date has been moved to 2025.
Kerala government approved the Semi High-Speed Rail project in August 2019. The Union government gave in-principle approval to the Kerala government proposal in December 2019. The project will be run as a joint venture between KRDCL and Indian Railways.
Project Snapshot
| Total Route KM | 532 |
| Number of Stations | 10 |
| Cost of Project | Rs. 63,941 crores (2020 estimate) [Updated] |
| Target Completion by | 2025 (2020 estimate) [Updated] |
| Expected Passenger Traffic | 79,934 passengers daily [Updated] |
| Rolling Stock | |
| Manufacturer | Unknown |
| Gauge | Standard Gauge [Updated] |
| Train Capacity | EMU Trainsets 9 Coach [Updated] |
Proposed Route Map of Kerala’s Silver Line Semi High-Speed Railway Line
The map above is for illustration purposes. The map is based on information made public by KRDCL so far. For details of final alignment please get in touch with KRDCL authorities.
The Silver Line will run along Coastal Kerala from capital city Thiruvananthapuram to Kasargod on the northern tip of the state. The route is designed to cover much of Kerala and bring much of the state’s population within easy reach of the project.
Proposed Stations on the Silver Line
| Proposed Station | Distance from Previous Station (estimate) | Total Distance (estimate) | Time Taken Between Stations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thiruvananthapuram | |||
| Kollam | 55 km | 55 km | 24 minutes |
| Chengannur | 54 km | 109 km | 24 minutes |
| Kottayam | 40 km | 149 km | 15 minutes |
| Ernakulam | 46 km | 195 km | 23 minutes |
| Cochin Airport | Not Known | Not Known | Not Known |
| Thrissur | 64 km | 259 km | 28 minutes |
| Tirur | 58 km | 317 km | 25 minutes |
| Kozhikode | 41 km | 358 km | 18 minutes |
| Kannur | 91 km | 449 km | 39 minutes |
| Kasargod | 83 km | 532 km | 36 minutes |
Additional stations may be incorporated in the final plan or at a later state.
Silver Line Proposed Fares
Reports suggest that the fares for the Silver Line will be competitive with 3 Tier AC fares on Indian Railways services. The K-rail website suggests pricing of about Rs. 2.75 per kilometre. This will mean a total fare of Rs. 1,463 for a seat between Thiruvananthapuram and Kasargod.
Equivalent Three Tier AC fare for Thiruvananthapuram-Kasargod on the 12431 TVC-Nizamuddin Rajdhani Express is Rs. 1,085-1185 at the time.
Project Financing
The Centre’s approval clears the way for the state government and its railway development arm, the Kerala Rail Development Corporation Ltd, to pursue funding and financial closure for the project.
Finances for the project are likely to be contributed jointly by the Kerala state government, the Union government and one or more external lenders. JICA, financing the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail project, among several others, may emerge as a lender for the project, reports claim.
The government claims that the project will be able to break even in 10 years.
Origins of the Silver Line Project
The project was originally envisioned in 2009 as a 526-kilometre high-speed line from Thiruvananthapuram to Kasargod. When complete, the time required to travel from one end to the other was expected to be as low as 140 minutes, or 2 hours and 20 minutes. A total of 12 stations were to be built on the route.
Divided into two phases, the total project cost was estimated at Rs. 1.2 lakh crore rupees. the state government expected to complete the project by 2020.
A separate entity, Kerala High-Speed Rail Corporation, was formed to execute the project. However, due to opposition from within the state over cost and financing, the project made little progress over the next few years. Finally, in early 2019, the state government terminated the project and wound up KHSRCL.
Switch to Semi High Speed Rail
In the meantime, a general consensus was formed to instead construct a new, semi high-speed railway line, topping out at 200 kph, on a similar route.
At a cost of Rs. 66,000 crores, the state government considered this a more viable project and decided to go ahead with it by 2019. This led to the state government approval in mid-2019 and the Union government by the end of the year.
K-rail has also planned to make this a project that is entirely run on green energy.
Timeline and Current Status of the Silver Line
As of January 2020, work on the Detailed Project Report for the Silver Line is under progress. The report is likely to be sent for approval in February 2020.
This tracker will continue to get updated as more information becomes available. Bookmark page to stay updated.
Details of proposed map
Can I get in depth map of chengannur.
Proposed rail alignment in Kozhikode District
Silver line project is very harmful to many families,, and they lost their properties and shelters…
If that loss is well compensated ,what is the problem?.Development of transport and communication is the backbone of every developing country.
Correct. They should stop harassing and destroying peoples homes. It is their lifetime accomplishment.
In this age they should stop acquisitions and build elevated roads and rails.
Moreover this is not necessary at this point of time. It will be outdate by the time it completes.
This kind of transport and communication is the need of the hour. A little inconvenience may cause due to land acquisition and if that loss is well compensated there may not be any problem. All the places in Kerala could be reached within a short span of time and development of all places.
Little inconvenience ? What if you they take your house away ? Not sure what kind of house you have but many people have worked hard running around saving money, getting loans approved, designing, buying interiors etc and they have their memories and happiness. Nobody can put a price tag on it.
A state like kerala doesnt required this .
it will be out dated at the time of completion
Financially this project is not viable and the world is struggling to cope up with post covid situation which country going finance this mega
project.
Route map of Thrissyr distr8
I do agree transportation is one among the back bone of development ,But the political party knows that they dont stand a chance in the coming elections due to their involvement in the scandles which the whole world has witnessed. So they want to swindle money before their term come to an end. Their are many promises.. these political puppets have made on many projects like compensation which is yet to reach the common man who deserves rightfully. Wish all these swindlers be brought to light and punished to death- irrespective of which political party they belong to.
Development is good. But the present alignment made floody area in Central Travacore. So alignment should change or enough solutions for flood.
Routemapofernakulamdist
On completion of this project the estimated cost may rise very high. Ordinarily the people who travel directly from Kasargod to Trivandrum is very less. Majority of passengers will get down in different places between Kasargod and Trivandrum.So the high speed train having 11 stations in 528 kms is not convenient for them. They will travel by super fast/ express trains. So travellers will be more in these trains than the semi high speed trains . Another disadvantage is this that the 528 kms rail built for this semi high speed train cannot be utilised for other kinds of trains running.
Since Kerala is a thickly populated state,land acquisition will result in the loss of houses of lakhs of people and the suffering of majority can not be compensated. Modernisation of the present railway system can enhance the present speed of the trains and the cost for this is also very low comparing to the cost of K-Rail project. In Kerala goods to be sent from Kasargod to Trivandrm is nominal, as ours is a consumer state we are purchasing the goods from other states. As the high speed train is within the state we can imagine how much freight charge will be earned by the high speed trains . It is advisable to construct domestic airports in most of the districts of Kerala.Hence the ecosystem of our state may also be considered.