On August 24, DMRC signed an
MoU with Kerala State Industrial
Development Corporation for providing
consultancy services and
conducting a pre-feasibility study
for the project. The value of the
contract is
10 crore.
DMRC will engage Japanese
experts associated with bullet
trains during the study, which is
expected to be submitted within
three months from the date of
agreement. The draft pre-feasibility
report will be ready within five
months and the final report by
February 2011.
Initially, eight stations-Thiruvananthapuram,
Kollam, Kottayam,
Ernakulam, Thrissur, Calicut,
Kannur and Kasaragod-with
an average distance of 70-80 km
have been planned, and an additional
three stations-Chengannur,
Tirur and Thalassery-in future.
The trains will run at speeds of
275-300 km per hour on the standard
gauge (1,435 mm) highspeed
corridor.
DMRC is the consultant for
nearly all upcoming metro rail
systems in the country, including
Bengaluru, Chennai and Jaipur.
The Kerala government's proposal
to build a metro network in the
commercial city of Kochi is still
pending with the Centre.