Kerala high speed rail corridor: Technocrat E Sreedharan has announced revised details of a proposed connecting Kerala’s southern and northern regions. As per the plan, the high-speed railway line will run from Thiruvananthapuram Central to Kannur, covering around 465 km in just 200 minutes (3 hours 20 minutes).
According to Sreedharan, popularly known as the Metroman, the proposed Kerala High-Speed Rail (KHSR) project is planned to provide connectivity to all three airports in the state. However, for Kannur Airport, he noted that dedicated electric vans will link the airport with the nearest high-speed rail station.
As per the proposed plan, the Thiruvananthapuram Central-Kannur high-speed rail corridor is estimated to cost around Rs 54,000 crore. However, Sreedharan projected that with a five-year construction timeline and an assumed annual inflation rate of 2 per cent, the final project cost could rise to nearly Rs 56,500 crore.
As per the proposal, the Thiruvananthapuram Central to Kannur HSR corridor will have 20 stations, including the two terminal points. The stations are planned at an average distance of 20-30 km to ensure wider coverage and improved passenger accessibility across the route.
The design speed of trains on Thiruvananthapuram Central to Kannur HSR corridor will be 200 kmph and the maximum operating speed is 180 kmph. The average commercial speed, will be 140 kmph. Vande Bharat Express train takes 06:48 hrs to cover the stretch.
As per the initial plan, the high-speed trains on Thiruvananthapuram Central to Kannur HSR corridor will consist of eight coaches with a total seating capacity of 560 passengers. Later, the train’s composition will be raised to 12 coaches once the capacity is reached.
The train will have only Premium class. Each coach will have 3 wide doors on each side so that persons on wheel chairs or baby prams can get in and get out easily.
According to Sreedharan’s plan, the HSR trains will run at an intervals of 30 minutes during peak hours and one hour during non-peak hours. “The operating hours are 6 hours to 23:15 hours. Peak hours are from 6 am to 10 am and 4 pm to 8 pm.
“When this capacity is reached, the length of the train can be increased ta LZ coaches. The intervals between trains can also be brought down to 5 minutes. In that case, the total carrying capacity will be more than 5 lakhs on this line per day. There will be no catering on board as journeys are short,” the proposal reads.
According to the proposal, the starting fare of Kerala High speed rail project will be Rs 780 from Thiruvananthapuram to Kannur. The fare on the Vande Bharat Express currently running on this route is about Rs 1,280 for an AC Chair Car ticket, while the Executive Chair Car fare stands at Rs 2,435.
