Railway Ministry sanctions survey for 7 rail projects with high-speed potential in Kerala

To improve the railway network in Kerala, the Ministry of Railways has sanctioned surveys for preparation of detailed project report (DPR) for seven projects with high-speed potential of 160 kilometres per hour.

The seven projects include the 307-km-long Shoranur-Mangaluru third and fourth line, 99-km Coimbatore-Shoranur third and fourth line, 106-km Shoranur-Ernakulam third line and the 115-km Ernakulam-Kayamkulam third line (via Kottayam), an official release on Friday said.

The other projects include the 105-km Kayamkulam-Thiruvananthapuram third line, the 71-km Thiruvananthapuram-Nagercoil third line, and the 46-km Turavur-Ambalappuzha doubling, it said. After firming up of the DPR, sanctioning of the projects requires consultation with various stakeholders, including State governments and necessary approvals like appraisal of NITI Aayog, Ministry of Finance, etc., the release said.

“As sanctioning of projects is a continuous and dynamic process, exact timelines cannot be fixed,” it added.