Land needs to be acquired only on small scale for high-speed rail; meeting with K V Thomas took place with knowledge of CM, says E Sreedharan

KOCHI: Metro man E Sreedharan on Friday said that he will cooperate for the development of Kerala and will not look at politics in the matter. He was talking to the media regarding the high-speed rail project in Kochi. Sreedharan also stated that the SilverLine project is impractical as per the current DPR. He added that he did not hold any discussions with the government on the matter of K-Rail.

"High-speed rail is necessary for the state. The new project will be implemented with the cooperation of everyone. There will be no additional financial liability if the Centre is included in the project," Sreedharan said.

"KV Thomas came to hold a discussion with me with the knowledge of the Chief Minister. I gave the note as demanded by KV Thomas. The high-speed rail can be implemented as an elevated rail line or a rail tunnel. The rail line can be made a reality by acquiring land on a small scale. Indian Railways or Delhi Metro may be entrusted with the management," he said.

"Discussions on high-speed rail had taken place when Oommen Chandy was the CM. High-speed rail or semi-high-speed rail are desirable. I have not received a reply from the state government for my proposals," Sreedharan added.