'Kerala will get high-speed rail; Centre will support all initiatives by Sreedharan’

NEW DELHI: Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has responded to the allegations that Kerala was neglected in the Union Budget. He said that the budget has announced a significant increase in railway allocation for Kerala. Addressing a press conference, the minister said that the amount allocated to the state is ten times higher than what was provided during the UPA government's tenure.

He said that an allocation of Rs 3,795 crore has been made for Kerala this year. The minister also spoke about the high-speed rail project in the state and the role of "Metro Man" E. Sreedharan. "The Centre will support all initiatives led by Sreedharan. We have already held discussions with him regarding the railway development in Kerala. Kerala will get a high-speed railway. Active cooperation from the state government is necessary to speed up railway projects," the minister said.

“I will write to the Chief Minister seeking faster land acquisition for railway development. The support of the state government is essential for the construction of the 105 railway overbridges planned in the state. The detailed project report (DPR) for the Mangaluru-Shoranur fourth line will be completed soon. Preparations for the DPR of the 106-kilometre-long Shoranur-Ernakulam third line are in the final stage. The survey for the Thiruvananthapuram-Nagercoil third line is currently underway,” the minister said.