Parliament Question: SilverLine Project in Kerala

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 5988 TO BE ANSWERED ON 01.04.2026 SILVERLINE PROJECT IN KERALA 5988. ADV. ADOOR PRAKASH: Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state: (a) whether the Government is considering a new high speed rail corridor in Kerala as an alternative to the SilverLine project proposed by the State and if so, the details thereof; (b) whether the Government has received any communication from the State Government regarding withdrawal from the proposed SilverLine project and if so, the details thereof; and (c) whether the Government has received any proposal from the State of Kerala for Regional Rapid Transport System (RRTS) project and if so, the details thereof? ANSWER MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, INFORMATION & BROADCASTING AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW) (a) to (c): To strengthen the railway network in Keralam, the following surveys have been sanctioned : SN Route Length (Km) 1 Shoranur-Mangalore 3rd & 4th Line 307 2 Coimbatore-Shoranur 3rd & 4th line 99 3 Shoranur – Ernakulam 3rd Line 106 4 Ernakulam-Kayankulam 3rd line (via 115 Kottayam) 5 Kayankulam-Thiruvanathapuram 3rd Line 105 6 Thiruvanathapuram-Nagercoil 3rd Line 71 7 Mararikulam - Alappuzha Doubling 13 Page 1 of 6 §After firming up of Detailed Project Report (DPR), sanctioning of project requires consultation with various stake-holders including State Governments and necessary approvals viz. appraisal of NITI Aayog, Ministry of Finance etc. As sanctioning of projects is a continuous and dynamic process, exact timelines cannot be fixed. SilverLine from Thiruvananthapuram to Kasaragod in Keralam was proposed for construction by Kerala Rail Development Corporation Limited (KRDCL), a Joint Venture company of State Government of Keralam (51%) and Ministry of Railways (49%) for development. After survey, KRDCL has submitted Detailed Project Report (DPR) of the Project to the Ministry of Railways for approval. The proposed alignment was running parallel to and in close proximity to Indian Railway (IR) lines. There were many deficiencies in the DPR. Therefore, KRDCL has been advised by Southern Railway to address those deficiencies and prepare revised DPR. Further, Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs (MoHUA) being nodal Ministry for RRTS has informed that no Detailed Project Report (DPR) of RRTS connectivity has been submitted to Central Government by the State Government of Keralam. Keralam Railway Budget: Budget allocation in the recent years has increased significantly. Budget allocation for infrastructure projectsand safetyworks, falling fully/partly inthe Stateof Keralam is as under:- Period Outlay 2009-14 ₹ 372 crore/year 2025-26 ₹3,042 crore (more than 8 times) Page 2 of 6Projects sanctioned: As on 01.04.2025, 06 projects (02 new line and 04 doubling) of 266 km length, costing ₹9,415crore falling fully/partly in Keralam are sanctioned. The summary is as under:- Category No. of Total Length Balanc Expenditure projects Length Commission e to upto March ed comple 2025 te ( ₹in Crore) 146 309 New line 02 0 km 146 km km Doubling / 120 04 26 km 94 km 2,941 multitracking km 266 3,250 Total 06 26 km 240 km km Zonal Railway wise details of Railway projects are made available in public domain on Indian Railway’s website. Recently Completed Projects: Details of some of the recently completed projects falling fully/partly in Keralam are as under: S. Cost (₹ in Project No. Crores) 1. Dindigul-Pollachi-Palghat & Pollachi- 1,360 Coimbatore gauge conversion (217 km) 2. Quilon-Tirunelveli-Tiruchendur gauge 1,122 conversion (357 km) 3. Mulanturutti-Kuruppantara doubling (24 km) 303 Page 3 of 64. Chenganur-Chingavanam doubling (27 km) 436 5. Ambalapuzha-Haripad doubling (18 km) 346 6. Kurruppanthara-Chingavanam doubling (27 km) 749 Ongoing Projects: Some of the projects falling fully/partly in Keralam which have been taken up are as under: S. No. Project Cost (₹ in Crores) 1. Tirunnavaya –Guruvayur new line (35 138 Km) 2. Angamali-Sabarimala new line (111 3,801 km) 3. Ernakulam-Kumbalamdoubling (8 km) 595 4. Kumbalam-Thuravur Patch doubling 803 (16 km) 5. Trivandrum- Kanyakumari doubling (87 3,786 km) 6. Shoranur - Vallathol doubling (10 km) 367 7. Palakkad Town – Parli bypass line (2 164 Km) 8. Alappuzha- Ambalapuzha doubling (13 324 Km) 9. Turavur – Mararikulam doubling (21 451 km) Execution of important infrastructure projects falling fully/partly in the State of Keralam are held up due to delay in land acquisition. Status of land acquisition in the State of Keralam is as under: Total Land required for Projects in Keralam 476 ha Land Acquired 65 ha (14%) Balance Land to be acquired 411 ha (86%) Page 4 of 6Railway had deposited ₹1,975 crore for land acquisition to Government of Keralam. Support of the Government of Keralam is needed to expedite the land acquisition. For instance, details of some major projects which are delayed due to land acquisition are as under:- S. Name of the project Total Land Balance No. land acquired Land to be required (in Ha) acquired (in Ha) (in Ha) 1. Angamali - Sabarimala new line (111 416 24 392 km) 2. Ernakulam-Kumbalam Patch 4 3 1 doubling (8 km) 3. Kumbalam-Turavur Patch doubling 10 9 1 (16 km) 4. Shoranur - Vallathol doubling (10 km) 5 0 5 Government of India is geared up to execute projects, however success depends upon the support of Government of Keralam. Sanctioning of any railway project depends upon many parameters/factors which include the following:  Anticipated traffic projections and remunerativeness of the proposed route  First and last mile connectivity provided by the project  Connection of missing links and providing additional route  Augmentation of congested/saturated lines  Demands raised by State Governments/Central Ministries/Public representatives  Railway’s own operational requirements  Socio-economic considerations  Overall availability of funds Page 5 of 6Completion of Railway project/s depends on various factors which include the following:  Land acquisition by State Government  Forest clearance  Shifting of infringing utilities  Statutory clearances from various authorities  Geological and topographical conditions of area  Law and order situation in the area of project site  Number of working months in a year for particular project site etc. All these factors affect the completion time and cost of the project/s. ***** Page 6 of 6