New Delhi: In a first, Delhi Metro will
provide consultancy services and conduct the pre-feasibility
study for construction of a 550 km high speed rail corridor
linking Kerala`s capital Thiruvananthapuram with the northern
town of Kasaragod.
This will be DMRC`s first-ever consultancy project for
construction of a high speed rail corridor in the country. The
organisation is providing consultancy services to almost all
upcoming Metro systems in the country, including Bangalore,
Chennai and Jaipur.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed here today
by the Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation
Managing Director Alkesh Sharma and DMRC`s Director (Works)
Mangu Singh in the presence of DMRC chief E Sreedharan.
Kerala has been in talks with DMRC for the high-speed
rail corridor and wants to utilise the services of Sreedharan,
who hails from the state.
The state government`s proposal to build a Metro network
in the commercial capital of Kochi is pending with the Centre.
DMRC plans to engage Japanese experts, who have been
associated with bullet trains, during the study, DMRC
spokesperson Anuj Dayal said.
As per the MoU, the DMRC will provide its consultancy for
conducting a pre-feasibility study for the establishment of
this 550 kilometre long rail corridor.
While the traffic study report has to be submitted within
three months from the date of agreement, the draft
pre-feasibility report has to be given within five months and
the final pre-feasibility report will be submitted within six
months from the date of the signing of the agreement.
The total cost of preparing the report will be Rs 10
crore, Dayal said.
Trains are expected to run at a speed of about 275-300
kilometres per hour on this standard gauge (1,435 mm) high
speed rail corridor.
Initially, eight stations have been planned which are:
Thiruvananthapuram, Quilon, Kottayam, Ernakulam, Thrissur,
Calicut, Kannur and Kasaragod, which is in extreme north of
the state bordering Karnataka.
Three more stations at Chengannur, Tirur and Thalassery
may also be constructed in the future. The average distance
between these stations will be 70 to 80 kilometres, Dayal
said.
-PTI
