Kerala gives nod for suburban rail project

The state Cabinet also gave administrative sanction to implement road renovation projects with an estimated cost of Rs 433 cr

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Kerala has announced a suburban railway project connecting Thiruvananthapuram with Chengannur, near Kottayam.

A cabinet meeting gave in-principle nod for the project and decided to initiate its feasibility study. The decision was announced by chief minister Oommen Chandy.

He said most parts of the railway line linking Ernakulam to Thiruvananthapuram had been made double lane. Additional lanes for the suburban service would not incur much expense when compared with Kochi metro and mono rail projects.

The proposed railway line would have high speed trains, and stops in main towns. Chengannur is the nearest railway station to the Sabarimala temple.

The Cabinet also gave administrative sanction to implement road renovation projects with an estimated cost of Rs 433 crore.  It also approved the market intervention schemes of civil supplies  and co-operative departments during the festive season in order to regulate prices of essential commodities.

Delving into the solar scam case, Chandy said the terms of references of the judicial inquiry would be announced soon, besides he expressed his willingness to include the involvement of his office into the scam in the terms of references of the inquiry.