Thiruvananthapuram: A meeting chaired by Chief Minister Shri Pinarayi Vijayan today has decided to implement the Sabari Rail Project in two phases. The state government will request the central government’s approval for this plan. In the first phase, the Angamaly-Erumeli-Nilakkal rail line will be completed.
The government’s decision for KIIFB to cover 50 per cent of the construction cost will remain in place. The state will also pursue the exclusion of this amount from the borrowing limit and will approach the central government to secure this. The Chief Minister emphasized that there is no immediate need for a tripartite agreement with the RBI. For now, the project will proceed with a single line, and the possibility of doubling the line will be considered during the development phase.
The 110 km-long Sabari railway line, running from Angamaly to Erumeli, was first proposed in the Railway Budget of 1997-98. Land acquisition for approximately 8 km has already been completed, and the 7 km stretch between Angamaly and Kalady was finished earlier. This section also includes provisions for two flyovers and two underpasses. A notification has been issued for land acquisition for the next 70 km. However, the Railway Board informed that the project had been frozen through a letter dated 26.09.2019, halting any further construction of flyovers.
The Railways has requested that the state government bear 50 per cent of the cost for the Angamaly-Erumeli section of the Sabari project. While the project was initially funded entirely by the Railway Fund, the Kerala government informed the central government on 07.01.2021 of its readiness to bear 50 per cent of the estimated Rs. 2,815 crores cost through KIIFB. The construction cost has since risen to Rs. 3,800.93 crores, according to the revised estimate. Despite the state government’s willingness to share 50 per cent of the revised cost, as requested by the Railway Board, the Railways has not yet revived the project.
The CM stated that the expansion of the Sabari Rail Project would provide a major boost to Kerala’s development. He also suggested that, in the future, the project could be developed to connect Vizhinjam, as opposed to the Chengannur-Pamba project currently under consideration by the central government.
Minister V Abdurahman; Chief Secretary, Saradha Muraleedharan; Ernakulam District Collector, N S K Umesh; Idukki Collector, V Vigneshwari; and Kottayam Collector, John V Samuel were among those who attended the meeting.