Kochi: Expert panel appointed by Kerala government on Monday rejected E Sreedharan's high-speed rail proposal. The committee said the project cannot proceed in its current form.
The Ministry of Railways, responding to questions raised by Rajya Sabha MP John Brittas, said the proposed Thiruvananthapuram–Kannur high-speed rail project cannot be implemented in its current form.
The ministry also noted that alternative proposals had been suggested earlier and clarified that the Kerala government has dropped the SilverLine project.
The Union government has said that Kerala has several other railway development projects under consideration. Responding to Parliament, the Ministry of Railways listed a number of proposed projects, including the Mangaluru–Kasaragod–Shoranur triple-line railway project, the Shoranur–Ernakulam triple-line railway project, and the Ernakulam–Kayamkulam triple-line railway project.
The UDF government had earlier decided to de-notify the SilverLine project, the flagship rail initiative of the previous LDF government. The semi-high-speed rail corridor was proposed to connect Kasaragod and Thiruvananthapuram in a single stretch.
E Sreedharan was among the prominent voices who opposed the SilverLine project from the outset, citing concerns over its alignment, cost and feasibility.
In 2025, Sreedharan proposed the Kerala High-Speed Rail (KHSR) corridor as an alternative to SilverLine and initiated the process of preparing a Detailed Project Report (DPR) by opening a project office in Ponnani.
The corridor has been designed for a maximum speed of 200 kmph, with an operating speed of 180 kmph. The estimated project cost is ₹54,000 crore, which is lower than the projected cost of the SilverLine project proposed by the previous State government. Assuming a five-year construction period and an annual inflation rate of two per cent, the completion cost is estimated at ₹56,500 crore.
