Metroman Sreedharan says proposed high-speed rail tickets will be cheaper than Vande Bharat

T'puram: Metroman E Sreedharan said that the tickets for the proposed high-speed railway would be cheaper than Vande Bharat and that the DPR would be ready in May. He said that Thiruvananthapuram to Kannur would cost Rs 780 and that the distance would be covered in three hours.Sreedharan said at the Institution of Engineers of India in the city on Wednesday that work could start in three months if a BJP govt took over in the state.
Thiruvananthapuram to Ernakulam will cost Rs 440, as against Rs 660 on Vande Bharat. Ernakulam to Kozhikode will be Rs 420 and Kozhikode to Kannur will be Rs 305. Thiruvananthapuram to Kannur will take three hours and cost Rs 780.He said, "With this also, we can make sufficient profit and money to sustain the system."Operation and maintenance costs — energy, staff costs and maintenance — were used as a base to fix ticket rates, Sreedharan said and added that the entire energy requirement would be produced by the system itself by installing solar panels on top of stations and depots. "This will help to keep ticket prices low."Sreedharan said that trains could be operated every half an hour during peak hours. "If trains are at 80% occupancy, we can have 45,000 ridership. We can run trains every five minutes. In that case, 5 lakh people can be carried per day. That's tremendous capacity."He also said that the line was highly safe and that punctuality would be high. The project cost was Rs 54,000 crore if it ran trains every half an hour, as against K-Rail cost. "The project can be completed in five years, provided Delhi Metro takes it up. Their culture is high quality of work.""It's noteworthy that no one is against land acquisition because land requirement will be minimal, and it will be returned to the owners on lease with conditions like they should not plant tall trees and should not construct buildings."He also said that the project would be designed and built by a special purpose vehicle, of which 51% share would be with Centre. "They will do the planning, funding and operating and the state will be part of it," Sreedharan said."People who use Parasuram Express and all can switch to this train because it is affordable and punctual. This is no boast. It's possible. If 30,000 people switch to rail, the carbon dioxide emission will come down. Around 82 tonnes of petrol and diesel per day can be saved."The high-speed rail would save lives, as road accidents were high in the state, he said.In the second phase, branch lines would be built, such as Kozhikode to Kalpatta and Pattambi to Palakkad, he added."There is a plan to have a greenfield highway. There is no need for the road if this comes. Pathanamthitta to Pamba can be covered in 20 minutes. Such are the advantages of the line. Thiruvananthapuram to Parassala, where there is heavy suburban traffic, can be covered in 30 minutes."