A town-to-town flight service named ‘Fly Kerala’ would be a more feasible intra-state travel option than the K-Rail project, said Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president and Member of Parliament K Sudhakaran on Sunday, March 20. His suggestion of an air link as an alternative to the rail corridor comes amidst raging controversy in the state over the government's ambitious K-Rail project and the protests by the public. He said that the flight can be planned just like the town-to-town bus service by the Kerala State Road Transport (KSRTC).
The Congress leader, in a video message titled 'Let's Talk Politics' on Facebook, said that there was already an air link from Mangaluru to Thiruvananthapuram and a flight on this route can stop at Kannur, Calicut and Kochi — and such a trip would only take a total of around three hours. Sudhakaran also said more flights can be pressed into operation for shorter distances or durations on this route. He even estimated thatthe entire project would not cost the state more than Rs 1,000 crore, instead of the expected Rs 1.33 lakh crore that the SilverLine is expected to cost.
He further said a system can be put in place to enable purchase of tickets at the time of travel or on the go, like while travelling on buses. He said he saw such a system in South Africa several years ago when he visited that country. “Under the air services, a system can be put in place so that passengers need not arrive at the airport hours earlier for check-in nor would they have to book the tickets in advance”, he added.
He urged the government to consider this alternative proposal for speedy travel from one end of the state to another, instead of focusing only on the SilverLine semi-high speed rail corridor.
The Kerala government's ambitious SilverLine project, which is expected to reduce travel time from Thiruvananthapuram to Kasaragod to around four hours, is being opposed by the opposition Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF), which has been alleging that the project is unscientific and impractical, and will put a huge financial burden on the state. The Left Democratic Front (LDF) government, on the other hand, has contended that the Congress and the UDF-opposition led by it have an "anti-development mindset".
The state government has also claimed that the project would be beneficial for the future generations, result in economic development and reduce carbon emissions every year by around 2.8 lakh tonnes and therefore, everyone should come together to make it a reality by setting aside their political differences.
However, in many places across the state, people have been opposing the laying of the survey stones identifying properties for the project and for carrying out a social impact assessment. The state government has also been criticised over the use of police force to remove protestors, including women, for laying the survey stones.
The 530 kilometre stretch from Thiruvananthapuram to Kasaragod would be developed by K-Rail — a joint venture of the Kerala government and the Ministry of Railways. Starting from the state capital, SilverLine trains will have stoppages at Kollam, Chengannur, Kottayam, Ernakulam, Thrissur, Tirur, Kozhikode and Kannur before reaching Kasaragod.