Published - December 17, 2025 08:07 pm IST - THIRUVANANTHAPURAM Though the Kerala government has communicated its readiness to implement the Sabari rail project, which will link Sabarimala with the existing railway line, by sharing 50% of the cost, it is unlikely to get on track soon due to several reasons. First, despite the formal understanding between the Chief Minister and the Centre regarding its implementation, the project has not made any headway, with the Railways requesting Kerala to give ‘clear acceptance’ to share 50% of the cost instead of ‘conditional acceptance.’ The State has been demanding that the debt incurred by the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB) by financing the project be fully exempted from the State’s borrowing limit, even as the State has assured the Railways that it would acquire the land for the project by using the 50% share of the project cost agreed to be shouldered by the State. Meanwhile, the office of the Deputy Chief Engineer, Southern Railway, has communicated to the State government that instead of providing a conditional acceptance, it should convey a ‘clear acceptance’ to bear the cost of land acquisition as part of the committed 50% share of the project cost so that the same can be communicated to the Railway Board for defreezing the project.
