Sreedharan hopeful on high-speed rail despite no mention in budget

Kozhikode: Metroman E Sreedharan said that he was hopeful about the high-speed rail project he had proposed to Union railway minister, even though it did not figure in the Union Budget presented by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman.Speaking to media at his residence in Ponnani on Sunday, Sreedharan said that railway minister Ashwani Vaishnaw has given oral directive on preparing the detailed project report (DPR) and added that the formal authorization letter to the DMRC was expected within a week. Sreedharan said the project would be considered for approval and funding only after the DPR is prepared and examined at various levels but expressed confidence of the Centre approving the project once the report is prepared. He clarified that formal project sanction was not required to begin DPR work, citing that preliminary works for the Bengaluru and Chennai Metro projects had also commenced before receiving official approval. The former DMRC chief said that following his meeting with Vaishnaw on Jan 16, he had written seeking permission to prepare the DPR and reiterated that the authorization was likely to be issued shortly. An office for DPR preparation will be opened at Ponnani on Monday, he added. Responding to a query, Sreedharan reiterated that the Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) proposed by the state govt was impractical and said he did not expect it to receive clearance from the ministry of housing and urban affairs. Sreedharan had on Friday said that RRTS cannot replace the high-speed rail corridor he had proposed to the railways for Kerala. He had said that the state govt's announcement about the project on Wednesday was an election stunt and that somebody was misleading the govt.