Tharoor pitches for ‘Vande Bharat’ train

Thiruvananthapuram: Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, who had earlier courted controversy for adopting a supportive stand for the LDF government’s Silver Line rail corridor project in Kerala, has opined that the Union Budget announcement on the launch of 400 Vande Bharat train services in three years could be an alternative for the multi-crore semi high speed initiative. He tweeted that one interesting element for Kerala in the budget 2022 was the announcement of 400 new Vande Bharat trains.

Whether the Centre and the state government could see the Vande Bharat trains as a “cheaper and more energyefficient substitute” for the Silver Line? he asked.

He also said it could address CM’s Pinarayi Vijayan’s concern for speedy train travel to promote development and alleviate the concerns of his own party, Congress’s concerns about land acquisition and environmental impact. “Bringing #VandeBharat trains to Kerala could address @vijayanpinarayi’s concern for speedy train travel to promote development, & alleviate @INCKerala ‘s concerns about land acquisition & environmental impact. GOI & GOK should discuss a winwin outcome in the interests of the state,” Tharoor tweeted. (PTI)