Railways will conduct a final location survey (FLS) for the proposed new rail line between Nilambur and Nanjangud via Wayanad. The Railway Ministry has sanctioned ₹5.90 crore for it.
Railways have reportedly made the move following the intervention of technocrat E. Sreedharan who had certified the viability of the proposed line from Nilambur to Mysuru.
Although Mr. Sreedharan had plumped for the Nilambur-Mysuru rail line, the State government did not show interest in it. Instead, the State government led by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan wanted the new rail line from Thalassery to Mysuru, a proposal that experts, including Mr. Sreedharan, said would be unviable.
The proposed rail line from Nilambur to Nanjangud will not only reduce the distance between Ernakulam and Bengaluru considerably, but also open up a new central rail route from Delhi to Kerala via Bengaluru.
While the new rail route will save 100 km from Ernakulam to Bengaluru, it will save about 400 km to Mysuru from Ernakulam.
236 km
Although the Railway reports say that the new line from Nilambur to Nanjangud will be 236 km, Mr. Sreedharan, in his unfinished survey report done under the banner of the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, had said that the new line could be done in 176 km. Mr. Sreedharan was so much confident of the proposed line that he could convince the politicians at the Centre about the line’s feasibility.
The final location survey will not be a detailed project report. However, the survey will identify the beginning and end of the route, and the likely stops in between.
Several organisations, including the Nilambur-Mysuru Railway Action Council and the Nilgiris Wayanad NH and Railway Action Committee, have been demanding a rail line from Nilambur to Mysuru since the maiden survey was done in 2002.
“The Railway Ministry should be thanked for this move. Unlike the previous occasions, Railways are going to do the final location survey on its own. It is an extremely positive sign,” said Biju Ninan, head of the Nilambur-Mysuru Railway Action Council.
Dr. Ninan said that the rail lines in the State were being put to optimal use currently. “The new line from Nilambur to Nanjangud will help people from Bengaluru to reach much faster to central Kerala,” he said.
He said the Nilambur-Nanjangud rail line could be used as a bypass route when the Konkan route was blocked. He said the new rail line would also ease the congestion on the Ghat roads from Wayanad.
