The Kerala Government is planning to raise Rs 1 lakh crore from a multilateral financial institution for funding the high speed rail corridor project.
The project will connect Thiruvananthapuram with Udupi in Karnataka, said the Kerala Chief Minister, Mr Oommen Chandy.
He was in the city for a roadshow to showcase the forthcoming ‘Emerging Kerala 2012' global investor meet, which would be held from September 12 to 14 in Kochi.
Mr Chandy said that the remaining funding requirements would come from the State and Central Government. About Rs 40,000 crore, excluding the land cost, would be required for the first phase, he added.
Construction of the first phase will commence in April 2013 and likely to be completed by March 2018. It will connect the state capital Thiruvananthapuram with Kochi.
The total length of the corridor would be about 650 km and it will have two parallel tracks on standard gauge. The corridor would be built on stilts and it would be independent of the existing rail network in the State.