KOCHI: Former finance minister Thomas Isaac in a Facebook post, said that the K-Rail project will boost the industrial parks in the state.
The industrial parks in Kasaragod, Kannur, Kakkanad and Kottayam and the Thrissur-Palakkad corridor will play a crucial role in the future industrial development of the state. Along with the Outer Ring industrial corridor in Thiruvananthapuram. All these will get an impetus as they will get connected through the high-speed rail line. It will attract investments to these sectors.
Answering queries on the project on his FB page, Isaac said that high-speed rail will also help in tourism development. The most promising tourism development potential is related to the beaches in Malabar. The distance between the traditional tourism hubs and new hubs will be significantly reduced through this connectivity, he said.
In addition to the above investments, one of the great future growth prospects of Kerala is job creation The target is 20 lakh jobs, Isaac said. Ecologically, K-Rail is more environmentally friendly than today’s road-based transportation network. Despite having six-lane on national highways, look at the traffic jam on the Aluva-Ernakulam or AluvaThrissur NH section. Even if we build a new NH, it will be the same in a few years, he added.
People are saying that K-Rail can be run by upgrading and doubling the existing railway tracks. The existing Thiruvananthapuram-Kasaragod railway track has 36% curves at 627 counts. The railways have no plans to rectify them at present. Therefore, even with the modernization of the signalling system and the completion of track doubling, the current average speed of 45km/h cannot be significantly increased. That is the significance of the K-Rail, which will be a speed of 200kmph, Isaac said.
Considering the potential of its future passengers, it could save Rs 530 crore on petrol and diesel a year. Short-distance commuters are not going to use K-Rail. But if you can reach Kasaragod from Thiruvananthapuram in 4 hours and Ernakulam in 1. 5 hours, who would go on this long journey by car? Not only speed but the car costs Rs 10 per km while the K-rail costs only Rs 2. 75.
You can reduce the intra-city passengers using efficient public transport to the last mile. K-Rail will help bring about such a change from road to rail, Isaac said.
