MRVC to study suburban rail

DC | Gilvester Assary | 11 min 56 sec ago

Thiruvananthapuram: Mumbai Railways Vikas Corporation (MRVC) will soon conduct a pre-feasibility study for the proposed suburban train services between Thiruvananthapuram and Chengannur.

A senior official of MRVC told DC from Mumbai:  “We  have received a request from the government of  Kerala and the same would be placed before the Railway Board and Union Railway Ministry for approval once we get the formal GO.  After pre-feasibility survey our team would be visiting the project area for a detailed engineering, technical and operational survey.

Once the feasibility study is over, we will get down to preparing a detailed project report.’’ When asked about the time frame for the feasibility study, he said the details were being worked out and the process would begin soon.

MRVC,  which is a joint venture public sector undertaking of the Ministry of  Railways and government of  Maharashtra, has successfully implemented a number of urban transport projects,  including Mumbai Urban Transport Project (MUTP).

The state government’s suburban rail service initiative has gained importance in view of the union government accepting in principle the demand to restrict the length of highways in the state to 30 metres.  The proposed project is aimed at enhancing the suburban rail transportation capacity thereby reducing the overcrowding of highways.

Experts say the suburban railway project which is estimated to cost Rs 2,000 crore to Rs 2,500 crore was less costly and having wider coverage of passengers compared to Kochi Metro and Mono Rail projects in Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode.

The highlight of the project include induction of dual voltage 9 rake cars, resettlement and rehabilitation  for people affected by the project, lengthening of the platforms, achieving three minutes headway on all lines and respacing of signalling system.

States: Kerala