Kerala at 'rail crossroads' as CM Vijayan seeks RRTS support, Sreedharan offers rival vision

Thiruvananthapuram, Feb 14 Kerala's transport ambitions have entered a decisive phase, with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, on Saturday, formally seeking the Centre's support to roll out a Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS), even as "Metro Man" E. Sreedharan unveiled a rival railway blueprint, setting the stage for a high-stakes infrastructure debate ahead of the state Assembly elections.

In a detailed letter to the Union Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, Vijayan requested facilitation of discussions with the National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC) to undertake feasibility studies for an RRTS corridor in Kerala.

The communication follows the State Cabinet's in-principle approval granted on January 28 and marks a formal pivot towards a semi-high-speed, high-capacity railway model.

The proposed first phase of the RRTS will run from Thiruvananthapuram to Thrissur, with the full 583-km alignment extending to Kasaragod over 12 years.

The estimated outlay is Rs 1.92 lakh crore.

The state government has positioned the project as the backbone of a unified mobility grid that would integrate metro systems in Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode, and link the state's major airports, significantly easing congestion along Kerala's densely populated linear urban corridor.

The move comes amid continued uncertainty over the state's earlier high-speed railway proposal.

However, Sreedharan's intervention has sharpened the contest.

Launching an office for his own railway proposal, the veteran engineer Sreedharan credited with delivering projects such as the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation and Kochi Metro Rail Limited termed the RRTS concept impractical and financially unsound for Kerala's terrain and fiscal capacity.

He asserted that his model would be more viable and quicker to execute.

With two competing visions now in play, Kerala finds itself at a "rail crossroads".

The coming months are expected to test political resolve, technical feasibility and fiscal prudence in equal measure, as the state weighs transformative mobility against long-term financial sustainability.

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