The famous hill station of Munnar will get back its monorail soon. As part of the project, a preliminary study led by Devikulam MLA S Rajendran was conducted on Friday.
The monorail which connected Munnar to Mattuppetty was washed away in the devastating flood of 1924.
Recently, the Tourism Department has decided to revive the monorail project in Munnar to attract more tourists in the region. The team inspected the old railway line route from Mattuppetty to Munnar.
It is learnt that Tata Group will collaborate for the new monorail project. The project will be implemented as a public-private partnership (PPP) model, said officials. Idukki District Tourist Promotion Council (DTPC) Secretary Jayan P Vijayan and Kannan Devan Plantation Company official Ajoy, led the preliminary study.
Devikulam MLA S Rajendran said, "The primary study report will be submitted to the Railway department soon. Then the railway officials will be carrying out a feasibility study in the region. Based on the report, the project will be implemented.”
The monorail project will be implemented as the Himalayan Mountain railway project. Rajendran added, “The Tourism Department aims to revive 5 kilometre railway line in the first phase of the project. When the project becomes a reality, the tourism prospects will improve in Munnar.”
Tourism minister Kadakampalli Surendran has confirmed that the Tourism Department has included the monorail project as one of its top priorities in the list of tourism projects in the state.
The old Munnar Railway station is now being used as the head office of the Kannan Devan Hills Plantation (KDHP). The railway station was built in 1902, and a steam engine railway line in the region used to carry tea and other goods. But a devastating flood in 1924 washed away the railway line, said a KDHP official.
"After the floods, the railway line was not repaired. Later, a road was constructed on the Munnar-Kodaikanal route. The 35 kilometre long railway line used to pass through the various tea estates of KDHP plantations," said the official.
Tata company has promised to allot land to the proposed project. After the feasibility study report, further steps will be taken, the tourism department official added.
Munnar is known as the southern Kashmir of Kerala and attracts lakhs of tourists every year.