The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : Rally for rail corridor to reach city tomorrow

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Tuesday, Jan 29, 2008
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Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

Rally for rail corridor to reach city tomorrow

Special Correspondent

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Kerala Congress (J) is planning to request the Prime Minister for a high-speed rail corridor connecting Mumbai with Kanyakumari. A rally for this purpose, with party leader P.J. Joseph in the lead, will reach Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday.

Addressing a press conference here on Monday, Minister for Public Works Mons Joseph and party general secretary Antony Raju said the rally, which started from Hudatma Chowk in Mumbai on January 12, would culminate at Kanyakumari on January 31. The corridor should cover five States, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala, he added.

“If the project materialises, bullet trains capable of travelling at speed of more than 500 km per hour can be used. The Mumbai- Kanyakumari corridor is estimated to cost Rs. 30,000 crore. But over a period of time, the volume of passenger traffic will make it profitable. This system is operational in the US, UK, France, Germany, Japan, China, Italy, Switzerland and Sweden,” Mr. Mons Joseph said.

The Minister said 40 MPs from the five States had requested the Union Government for a techno-economic survey of the project.

“A meeting of MPs from Kerala decided to take up the issue with the Centre.” Mr. Mons Joseph added that this rail corridor could be linked to the Delhi- Mumbai stretch already under consideration.

Mr. Antony Raju said the party rally would arrive at Paripally at 10 a.m. on Wednesday.

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