Kerala high-speed rail: CM Satheesan says govt panel finds Delhi Metro Rail Corporation proposal ‘incomplete’

An expert committee appointed by the Kerala government has found a high-speed rail proposal submitted by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) to be “incomplete” and has advised the government not to finalise a decision based on it, Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan said on Wednesday (July 15, 2026).

Briefing press persons on the Cabinet decisions, Mr. Satheesan said the expert committee which consisted of environment, rail and financial experts, had submitted its report on Wednesday. “Their recommendation is that the report submitted by DMRL is incomplete. There is no environment impact study or an economic model. They have also not studied the viability and feasibility of the project,” the Chief Minister said.

The committee has recommended that the government should examine the financial viability, environment impact, passenger capacity and the potential for logistics services before preparing a detailed project report (DPR), Mr. Satheesan said. The panel has also advised the government not to launch land acquisition or freeze land before the DPR is prepared. Only when the government is satisfied about these aspects should it go ahead with the preparation of the DPR, the committee has recommended.

A major shortcoming

A major shortcoming of the DMRL report is that it does not take into account logistics services, especially at a time when the Kerala government is moving ahead with plans to develop its ports and airports and link them with inland waterways and hinterland connectivity, Mr. Satheesan said.

What the recommendations mean is that the State “should not repeat the mistakes” that occurred with the scrapped K-Rail project, he said.

“Only passenger services have been included in the proposal. There is no mention of logistics, when the government has declared a policy to develop ports and airports, where connectivity and logistics are very important. So this is an incomplete proposal,” he said.

The Chief Minister said the government will decide on the course of action after studying the committee’s report in detail.