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Railway tunnel for Vizhinjam port

  • 08/02/2019
  • A 10.7-km railway line, including a 9.02-km tunnel, has been proposed to connect the upcoming Vizhinjam International Multipurpose Deepwater Seaport to the railway network.
  • The 9.02-km tunnel, mooted by Konkan Railway Corporation Ltd (KRCL) from near the Balaramapuram station on the Kanyakumari-Thiruvananthapuram railway line, will be the second longest railway tunnel in the country.
  • The KRCL, in its draft Detailed Project Report (DPR) submitted to Vizhinjam International Seaport Limited (VISL) — a special purpose company supervising the execution of the seaport project — has favoured the railway tunnel from Balaramapuram in view of the 35-metre level difference between the port and the highest ground level, undulating terrain, and local population.
  • The government has decided to set up a high-level committee to look into the DPR submitted by the KRCL, official sources told The Hindu on Thursday. Fine-tuning of the alignment will be taken up after the evaluation.

  • The KRCL, experts in constructing tunnels, was roped in after Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd under the Union Ministry of Railways backed out from the seaport connectivity project.

  • The plan is to establish the railway link by May 2022.