Stung by public protest against the semi-high speed railway project conceived by the Left Democratic Front government and considering the lukewarm response to it from the Union government, the State is exploring the option of converting the project into one that supports both semi-high speed and high-speed train services.
The proposed 530-km Thiruvananthapuram-Kasaragod semi-high speed standard-gauge railway link would cost ₹64,000 crore and require large tracts of land.
To allay fears over environmental damage and bisecting the State, the new project suggests that 95% of the line run on elevated structures and the remaining through underground passages.
