Technocrat and former Delhi Metro Rail Corporation chairman E. Sreedharan (Known as the Metro Man) has called on citizens across Kerala to form local committees to support the proposed Kerala High-Speed Railway (KHSR).

Speaking at a people’s committee meeting in Malappuram on Monday, Sreedharan urged residents to create “High-Speed Railway Seva Samithis” to help ensure the smooth construction of the project.

He explained the need for the rail corridor and highlighted the role of local residents in facilitating its implementation. Sreedharan also asked the public not to assess the project politically with a view that he is a BJP person, stressing that the intention behind the proposal is to benefit Kerala.

An office has already been set up with several of his former DMRC colleagues to coordinate work on the project. According to him, locations for the stations have been identified. The next stage will involve field surveys, after which a Detailed Project Report (DPR) will be prepared and submitted to the Centre and the State government.

Sreedharan said the Union Railway Minister had shown strong interest in the proposal and had specifically asked for the DPR to be prepared.

Local action council formed as outreach campaign continues

At the Malappuram meeting, a “High-Speed Rail Action Council” was formally constituted to support the initiative. 

The council pledged support for a revised alignment that passes through Malappuram town and connects the line with Karipur Airport.

Sreedharan has been conducting awareness campaigns to explain the project. The proposed corridor between Thiruvananthapuram and Kannur has not yet received approval from the Centre, which has neither endorsed nor rejected the plan so far. The State government and ruling parties have also kept their distance from the proposal. This is partly because Sreedharan has positioned the KHSR as an alternative to the State’s K-Rail project, which has since been shelved.

Faster travel times and proposed future expansion

Under the proposal, trains would run at a maximum speed of 180 kmph with an average commercial speed of 140 kmph.

The journey between Thiruvananthapuram and Kannur is expected to take about three hours and twenty minutes. The proposed ticket fare is ₹780, roughly the same as the existing Jan Shatabdi train charge.

To maintain hygiene standards, trains would not include onboard catering.

Sreedharan said the project could reduce private vehicle use across the State, easing road congestion and cutting pollution and fuel consumption. The reduction in fuel use alone could save around ₹33,000 crore.

The project also outlines future extensions. The second phase proposes rail connectivity to Wayanad for the first time. A 58-km journey between Kozhikode and Kalpetta could then take about 30 minutes.

Other projected travel times include 23 minutes between Pattambi and Palakkad, and 53 minutes between Kozhikode and Palakkad.

Sreedharan said the rail network could later be extended to Kasaragod, Kalpetta and Palakkad, and potentially beyond Kerala to Mangaluru and Mumbai. In that case, travel between Mangaluru and Mumbai could take around six hours.