Kerala - Kozhikode   

Suburban rail: meet explores options

Staff Reporter

Delhi Metro Rail Corporation willing to take up feasibility study: E. Sreedharan

Photo: S. Ramesh Kurup

Railway Matters: E. Sreedharan, chairman, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, receiving a memorandum from K.P. Aboobacker, secretary, the Malabar Chamber of Commerce, at a meeting in Kozhikode on Sunday.

Kozhikode: E. Sreedharan, chairman of Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), said that if suburban railway from Thalassery to Tirur could be developed, it would usher in development of Malabar.

Delivering a talk on Suburban Railway for the development of Kozhikode, organised by the Malabar Chamber of Commerce here on Sunday, Mr. Sreedharan said that the entire region had to be electrified first.

Trains should be small Electric Multiple Units (EMU) and the number of coaches should not exceed four in the beginning. Later, it can be increased to six, and not more.

Such short trains could function at regular intervals only if there is an automated signal system. Trains should be air-conditioned and should have automatic doors. A survey will bring out the cost of the suburban railway. The investment on rails will not be more than Rs. 300 to Rs. 350 crore. The main cost would be for buying trains and installing automated signal system.

The State Government should join hands with the Railways to make this happen. A company should be formed to take the project forward. Mr. Sreedharan said that a rapid transit system, in which a dedicated lane for buses is developed, would ease the city’s traffic problems. In some areas of the city and its suburbs, the roads had to be widened to 26 metres for including a lane for buses, and another two lanes for two-wheelers and cars and heavy vehicles. These buses should be of medium size, with a seating capacity of 40 to 45.

Later, he told a delegation of Calicut Chamber of Commerce and Industry that the Delhi Metro Railway Corporation was ready to make a feasibility study of this railway project for Kozhikode city.

He told the delegation that the best railway project for the city, which is densely populated and closer to sea, was suburban rather than an underground one.

He, however, added that a detailed technical study was necessary for the two projects to finalise the most suitable, practical and cost–effective project could be found out. Chamber honorary secretary, P.T.S.Unni, president-in-charge P. Mammad Koya, former presidents, C.E.Chakkunni and K.Moidu and vice president, M.V.Basheer were among those in the team that met Mr. Sreedharan.

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