Although the budget presented by Kerala Finance Minister KN Balagopal lacked big-ticket infrastructure projects, the state government pledged its support for high-speed travel by allocating ₹100 crore to start preparatory work for the Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) project, which was approved by the cabinet recently. The move comes in the wake of the Union government’s recent approval of the high-speed rail project for the state ahead of the Kerala assembly elections.
Mr. Balagopal said that high speed transport facility from Thiruvananthapuram to Kasaragod is inevitable. In Kerala, this system is envisaged to be implemented in four phases along the lines of the Delhi-Meerut RRTS corridor. The Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has offered support to the scheme. Accordingly, the scheme is to be introduced in first phase from Thiruvananthapuram to Thrissur, second phase from Thrissur to Kozhikode, third phase from Kozhikode to Kannur and fourth phase from Kannur to Kasaragod.
A distinctive feature of this mode of transport, which usually runs on elevated pillars, is that it can be integrated into urban metro projects. However, technocrat E. Sreedharan, who proposed an alternative project to the Kerala Semi-High Speed Rail (SilverLine) project, said that the main purpose of the RRTS is to connect suburban towns to cities and the proposed RRTS will not serve the purpose of high-speed transport. The RRTS will have more stops than the high-speed rail project, which will not only limit the speed of the trains but also increase the cost of the project. Around ₹250 crore is required to build 1 km of RRTS track.
Mr. Sreedharan further said that the formal approval of the high-speed project by the Railways is expected in the first half of February. Although the components of the project may vary depending on the technology, the main attraction of Mr. Sreedharan’s RRTS and high-speed rail is that most of the route will be on elevated piers, minimizing environmental impact.
The state has prepared a detailed project report for the SilverLine project, with most of the route running over embankments, drawing sharp criticism from environmental activists.
Published – 29 Jan 2026 20:18 IST
