SilverLine DPR to see changes, construction ban for 5 metres only

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The SilverLine Detailed Project Report (DPR) will be amended with more people friendly and eco-friendly provisions.

One of the major amendments is to reduce the construction ban to 5 metres on both sides of the rail and the construction restriction to 10 meters. In the current DPR, the restriction is within 30 metres. Prior permission is required for construction here.

The proposal is to reduce the ticket price to Rs 2.75 per km. There are proposals to reduce SilverLine's electricity rates and buy cheaper solar power. Rs 6.50 per unit has to be paid to KSEB. This rate can be reduced.If it is solar power, Rs 3.50 is enough. These profits will be used to reduce ticket prices.

The profits by increasing commercial development at the stations will also help in reducing the ticket prices. The commercial revenue is only two per cent as per the DPR. The Judicial Commission has recommended to increase this to 10-15 percent. The higher the income, the higher the profit. More land should be acquired.

Although the alignment will not change, the height of the path will be reduced, thereby reducing the cost of rock and soil.

K-Rail MD V Ajithkumar told Kerala Kaumudi that there may be changes in the DPR till the final approval of the Union Cabinet.

Lots of changes

Number of passengers

The number of passengers will increase from 79,934. There will be more than a thousand people who travel 200 kilometres. About 13 percent of train passengers and 12 percent of road passengers (46,206) will switch to the SilverLine. The DMRC estimates that there will be 1.24 lakh passengers on high speed rail in 2028. The ticket price is Rs 5.

2) Rock and sand from the outside

According to the DPR, rock and soil will be found in Central Kerala. The rock can be brought by train from Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh or by ship from West Asia. Sand can be brought in from Malaysia. Other states provide rock at half the price of that in Kerala. In Kerala, rock laid on the track costs Rs 15,000 per 10 cubic metres . This is Rs 6000 in Tamil Nadu. There will be profit even if Rs.2000 is charge for transportation.

The height of embankment

Embankment in low lying areas can be up to 8 m. Embankment will be there for a total of 292.72 km. Only 10 percent of that distance are 5 to 8 m tall. Mostly embankment is 2-3 m high. If it is above 8 meters, a bridge will be constructed.

No landslides

When the hills are dug, a box is placed and the top is covered with sand. This is cut and cover technology. There will be no landslides.

The flow will not be blocked

The floodwaters rose four meters above sea level during the Kerala floods. Bridges and tracks will be one metre above it. The hydrological study will find ways to prevent the flow of water as many stations including Kollam are on paddy field.