CPI- M  Kerala Secretary M V Govindan has said that the LDF government in Kerala is committed to silverline semi-high-speed rail project and the Vande Bharat Express allotted to Kerala by the Central government is not an alternative to the  K-Rail (Silver Line) envisioned by the  state government .

Speaking to media persons here, MV Govindan said that K-Rail is inevitable for the development of Kerala and that taking loans to create capital investments is not problematic

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Stating that the LDF government is planning to run a train every 20 minutes, the CPI-M leader asked, “Would running one train a day be a substitute for that?” “If not for today, K-Rail is essential for Kerala’s future,”  he added

Responding  to BJP leader P K Krishnadas who, picking a line from his (MV Govindan’s) earlier speech, said that Malayalis don’t have to wait till the arrival of K-Rail and can sell the bread they made in another place by travelling in Vande Bharat, Govindan said the bread  will be rotten by the time Vande Bharat trains reach their destination. “You need SilverLine for that,” he added.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will flag off the first semi high-speed train allotted to Kerala in Thiruvananthapuram on 25 April. The new train, the  Vande Bharat Express, will operate between Thiruvananthapuram and Kannur, providing a faster mode of transportation for the people in the state.

The new high-speed train is allotted to Kerala while the state government is pressing the Centre government  for the approval of its  Silverline semi-high-speed rail project

Meanwhile,in an embarrassment to the BJP, Metroman E Sreedharan, , who contested the 2021 Kerala Assembly elections  as a BJP candidate has said Vande Bharat trains are not suitable for the existing railway tracks in Kerala.

“It is possible to operate (Vande Bharat) in Kerala, but you will not get the benefits of it,” he said.

In an interview given to an English daily, Sreedharan  said that in the present circumstances, the high-speed trains can be run merely as a show or publicity.

“The Vande Bharat train has a speed potential of 160km per hour. The present track can take 80km per hour or a maximum of 100 km per hour, which in effect can only run at 90km,” he said.

Sreedharan, who was the former managing director of the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), is also against the LDF government’s proposed SilverLine semi-high-speed  train project , citing technical reasons.