Kerala’s UDF govt scraps K-Rail project launched by LDF

The Kerala Cabinet on Wednesday (May 20, 2026) decided to scrap the K-Rail (SilverLine) semi-high-speed railway project from Thiruvananthapuram to Kasaragod.

Addressing a press conference after the Cabinet meeting, Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan said all the land acquired for the project would be de-notified and the yellow-hued concrete markers that demarcated the prospective line would be removed.

The Chief Minister, however, did not rule out the possibilities of the United Democratic Front (UDF) government coming up with its own semi high-speed rail project. He said that the government was “not against a rail project which will not affect the State environmentally or financially.”

Cases to be withdrawn

“We are not against high-speed rail projects. We opposed K-Rail because it was an environmental disaster and not economically viable. The K-Rail project did not have a proper Detailed Project Report (DPR). The LDF government had given up on the project and alternative projects were being discussed. Unfortunately, land acquired for the project was not de-notified, due to which people were suffering as they were unable to sell or pledge their own property. All the cases connected with the agitation will be withdrawn,” he said.

The Anti-K-Rail SilverLine People’s Struggle Committee had on Tuesday called on Mr. Satheesan to issue an order withdrawing the SilverLine project. Mr. Satheesan had said ahead of the Assembly elections that the UDF would de-notify the land acquired for SilverLine if voted to power.

The State had witnessed strong protests led by the UDF against the project since 2022. Revenue surveyors faced stiff opposition from Congress workers in many places. The party workers had used the uprooting of the yellow markers as a symbolic form of protest against the project. The land-use battle over the SilverLine alignment demarcation reflected resoundingly in the Assembly also with the UDF staging walkouts over the police action against long-time local residents, who, fearful of displacement, resisted the laying of markers for the semi-high-speed railway project.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has also been against the project, with State leaders saying the project lacked Central approval and, hence, lacked credibility. The LDF government had made several unsuccessful attempts to get approval from the Union government.