After prolonged difference of opinion on the proposed Thalassery-Mysuru railway line, the Kerala and Karnataka governments have agreed to conduct a survey before preparing a detailed project report (DPR) on the revised Thalassery-Mysuru line via Mananthavady.
The agreement was reached following a high-level meeting between officials led by Chief Secretary K.M. Abraham and Karnataka Chief Secretary Subash Kuntia in Bengaluru on Thursday.
Konkan Railway Corporation Limited will conduct the physical survey, sources told The Hindu.
Kerala Rail Development Corporation Limited, a registered joint venture company of the State government and the Railways, formed on 51:49 equity partnership to develop railway infrastructure in the State, will foot the bill for the survey.
Both the governments have expressed interest in the revised route via Mananthavady, given that the line will cause minimum ecological damage.
For the record, the project was taken up for discussion at a meeting between Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Railway Board Chairman Ashwani Lohani in Thiruvananthapuram recently.
The proposed line will pass through Koothuparamba, Mananthavady, Thrissilery, Kutta, Kanoor, Belale, and Thithimathi to reach Mysuru.
New station
However, sources said a new station at Periyapatna would be included in the proposed route so as to link it to the proposed Mysuru-Kushal Nagar railway line, for which a survey is being conducted. On the Kerala side, there will be a railway project connecting Kannur and Mattannur. Besides, a line between Mattannur and Koothuparamba has been agreed in principle.
With the agreement, two earlier projects — Thalassery-Mysuru railway line, in which the Chief Minister’s Office had expressed interest and Nilambur-Nanjangud line — have been dropped, they added. The meeting, which was attended by Transport Secretary K. Jyotilal and Principal Chief Conservator of Forests P.K. Kesavan, also discussed the alignment of the rail route in both States.
The rail network will not disturb any of the protected places such as Bramhagiri Wildlife Sanctuary, Nagerhole National Park, and Bandipur Tiger Reserve in Karnataka and Kottiyoor, Aralam and Wayanad wildlife sanctuaries in Kerala.
Once the DPR is ready, the Ministry of Railways will begin procedures to conduct an environmental impact assessment and obtain mandatory clearances from multiple agencies, including the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, and finally present the recommendations of the National Board for Wildlife, chaired by the Prime Minister, to the Supreme Court.