THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: CPM State Secretary MV Govindan stated that the Pinarayi government, which has made the National Highway and GAIL pipeline a reality, will also implement the SilverLine project. In a weekly article in the CPM mouthpiece, he said the Centre would be forced to approve the project soon.

"With the advent of Vande Bharat, some are proclaiming that the SilverLine project proposed by the Pinarayi government is dead. The BJP state president even went on to say that the SilverLine project will remain a daydream of MV Govindan. His words reflect the over-eagerness to see the project getting dusted. However, on the very next day, the state BJP leadership realized that neither the BJP nor the central government could challenge the willpower of the LDF government. Union Minister of Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw said in a press conference that the SilverLine is not a closed chapter. The Railway Minister said this in the presence of V Muraleedharan, the Union Minister from Kerala," Govindan said.

"Everyone must have realized that even though the state has got a high-speed train, there is no track here to run it at high speed. It will take at least 10 years to straighten the curves in the existing tracks. SilverLine trains will reach their destination in half the time taken by Vande Bharat. While Vande Bharat has limited services, the Silver Line will have one service every 20 minutes. The ticket price will also be less," Govindan added.