State Needs To Chip In Half The Doubling Cost; Future Of Kanjikode Proposal Hinges On Locating PPP Partner.
A fresh lease of life for the Kanjikode factory proposal is the only assurance CM Oommen Chandy and opposition leader V S Achuthanandan got from the Union railway minister when they met him in New Delhi on Tuesday . The state delegation had submitted an eight-page request to minister Suresh Prabhu that included the completion of doubling, electrification, gauge conversion, line and survey works. It also included demands like the introduction of suburban trains and installation of automatic signalling system.
The oft-repeated projects of Kerala's political establishment like the setting up of peninsular railway one and wagon factory at Cherthala also found a place in the memorandum. In a refreshing break from the past, the memorandum did not run into hundreds of pages usu ally a compilation of the memorandums by MPs that were left unread by top railway officials.
But, it remains to be seen which of the projects in the eight-page list is ap in the eight-page list is approved in the upcoming railway budget. Even in the case of the coach factory , the going will be tough, said MP M B Rajesh, who has been pursuing the project with railway authorities in New Delhi. “Railways needs to find a private partner for the project which will be implemented in PPP mode. Some of the tender conditions have been liberalized so that the private players show interest. Officials had claimed that they had held pre-bid discussions with some of the potential partners and had assured me that the retender notice will be issued in December 2014. But nothing has materialized,“ he said. Earlier, steel giant SAIL had expressed interest and railways shot down the proposal saying the firm is a public sector entity , he said.
Railway officials said the only doubling work that was likely to be completed before March is the Piravom-Kuruppanthara stretch. Doubling will thus remain incomplete in the Ernakulam-Kottayam sector. This means proper capacity utilization of the rail lines between Shoranur and Thiruvananthapuram will take more time. No allocation has been made, so far, for doubling the Ernakulam-Alappuzha-Kayamkulam line. Railways has asked the state government to chip in half the cost for undertaking the doubling work, apart from seeking free land. The state government has not agreed to this proposal. Similarly in north Kerala, only the Shoranur-Kozhikode electrification is facing a March deadline and the Kozhikode-Mangalore side will remain incomplete,.
Introduction of automatic signalling system which can simultaneously augment the speed of existing trains and create facilities for the introduction of the muchneeded suburban rail system has not been included in the proposal. Officials said state has to expedite the land acquisition to complete rail doubling works and launch new lines. The state will have to revisit its approach on financial participation in rail projects.
(T. Ramavarman, Times of India dt 15-1-2015)
A fresh lease of life for the Kanjikode factory proposal is the only assurance CM Oommen Chandy and opposition leader V S Achuthanandan got from the Union railway minister when they met him in New Delhi on Tuesday . The state delegation had submitted an eight-page request to minister Suresh Prabhu that included the completion of doubling, electrification, gauge conversion, line and survey works. It also included demands like the introduction of suburban trains and installation of automatic signalling system.
The oft-repeated projects of Kerala's political establishment like the setting up of peninsular railway one and wagon factory at Cherthala also found a place in the memorandum. In a refreshing break from the past, the memorandum did not run into hundreds of pages usu ally a compilation of the memorandums by MPs that were left unread by top railway officials.
But, it remains to be seen which of the projects in the eight-page list is ap in the eight-page list is approved in the upcoming railway budget. Even in the case of the coach factory , the going will be tough, said MP M B Rajesh, who has been pursuing the project with railway authorities in New Delhi. “Railways needs to find a private partner for the project which will be implemented in PPP mode. Some of the tender conditions have been liberalized so that the private players show interest. Officials had claimed that they had held pre-bid discussions with some of the potential partners and had assured me that the retender notice will be issued in December 2014. But nothing has materialized,“ he said. Earlier, steel giant SAIL had expressed interest and railways shot down the proposal saying the firm is a public sector entity , he said.
Railway officials said the only doubling work that was likely to be completed before March is the Piravom-Kuruppanthara stretch. Doubling will thus remain incomplete in the Ernakulam-Kottayam sector. This means proper capacity utilization of the rail lines between Shoranur and Thiruvananthapuram will take more time. No allocation has been made, so far, for doubling the Ernakulam-Alappuzha-Kayamkulam line. Railways has asked the state government to chip in half the cost for undertaking the doubling work, apart from seeking free land. The state government has not agreed to this proposal. Similarly in north Kerala, only the Shoranur-Kozhikode electrification is facing a March deadline and the Kozhikode-Mangalore side will remain incomplete,.
Introduction of automatic signalling system which can simultaneously augment the speed of existing trains and create facilities for the introduction of the muchneeded suburban rail system has not been included in the proposal. Officials said state has to expedite the land acquisition to complete rail doubling works and launch new lines. The state will have to revisit its approach on financial participation in rail projects.
(T. Ramavarman, Times of India dt 15-1-2015)
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