The processing of the LiDAR survey data for finalising the alignment of the proposed 531.45-km semi-high-speed railway (SHSR) corridor from Kochuveli to Kasaragod has commenced.
The Director General, Survey, has cleared the high-resolution data picked up using the Partenavia P68 aircraft to enable Kerala Railway Development Corporation Limited (KRDCL) to commence processing work.
A team of the Hyderabad-based GeoKno India Pvt. Ltd, tasked with the field survey, has started comparing the survey data for the first 100 km with the worked out alignment at the KRDCL office in the capital, sources told The Hindu.
Land surveyed
Although land at a width of 600 m was surveyed for the project, named Silver Line, it will be set up in the suitable 25-m width. The LiDAR eye picked up buildings, people-inhabited areas, forests, bridges, stone benches, and bushes along the proposed north-south corridor.
Through LiDAR technology, the survey of the entire section was carried out to prepare the complete digital elevation model, digital terrain model, digital surface model, L-sections, C-sections, contour, topographical mapping, vegetation mapping, hydrographic/ sonar/ bathymetric surveys, wherever required, and submit the processed geographical data for engineering design of the entire length and lateral construction.
The changes needed in the alignment will be made after the data are compared with the worked out alignment, he said. The initial 300 km of the third and fourth lines from Kochuveli to Thrissur will be mostly parallel to the existing track. From Thirunavaya to Kasaragod, it will be parallel to the existing line with rail bypasses at Vadakara and Thalassery as proposed in the feasibility report by the Paris-based engineering and consulting group Systra, the general consultant of the KRDCL.
Only after the alignment is finalised can the DPR be completed by Systra and the KRDCL can seek the mandatory approval from the Centre and the State government.
A new traffic and transportation survey for the corridor has revealed a daily ridership of 73,000 in 2024 when the ₹66,079-crore project is completed.
Project in 3 years
Finance Minister T.M. Thomas Isaac has announced in the 2020-2021 Budget that the project will be completed in three years after the land is acquired.
The 531.45-km distance can be covered in four hours, with 10 stops in 11 districts, compared to the present 12 hours.