Rail or road on my land

Kerala Rail Development Corporation Limited (K-Rail) is a Joint Venture Company under the Government of Kerala and Ministry of Railways, Government of India. SilverLine is their “Thiruvananthapuram – Kasaragod Semi High-Speed Rail Project”.

The 529.45 km SilverLine corridor connecting Kasaragod and Thiruvananthapuram, with an operating speed of 200kmph, eases the transport between North and South ends of the state and reduces the total travel time to less than 4 hours, compared with the present 10 to 12 hours. The intermediate stations include Kollam, Chengannur, Kottayam, Ernakulam, Kochi Airport, Thrissur, Tirur, Kozhikode and Kannur.

Most of you would be knowing all this and more as it is a hot discussion across Kerala. Some are for development and others are against development. Everyone has a point to make and so do I!

Having decided to give part of the land for infrastructure development, what would a common man prefer on his land - a road or a railway line?

A road means better access to him and his remaining land. The value of the remaining land will appreciate. He has better options with the asset. The road will give easy and better access for his future generations for a better life. If by any chance the road splits his land, it is much better for him. The opportunities and potential for him with the remaining land is far better when the road is in place.

A railway line is the complete opposite of this. The railway line does not make his living better. The land value will not appreciate. There are stringent restrictions on what can be constructed on the nearby land. The rail will not give easy access to the world around. He will have to reach the nearest station to travel on them. If by any chance the road splits his land, it is worse for him. The opportunities and potential for him with the remaining land is far worse when the rail is in place.

We just have to look around and see the life of people beside a road and a railway line. The above dichotomy exists for anybody who stands to lose part of their land. How do we consider them in our decisions?

Comments

  1. Utopian KeralaJanuary 31, 2022 at 9:25 AM

    A friend made a valid point and takes this further. I would like to bring that here for everyone else.

    ***
    Hi Cerin, good read. You've articulated your argument well. I'd like to offer another point-of-view to consider. Consider it a mid-point between the two extremes 🙂.

    In my assessment, after living in industrialised and developing countries, I'm in the middle camp that feels roads AND trains bring benefits. I've attached a national geo article which talks about the different transportation modes and the role each played in developing the economy of the U.S.

    While your points are valid regarding roads and the immediate proximity benefits it brings to land owners, trains do the same, but on a larger statewide or nationwide level.

    For example, consider how much more economic output China has achieved with a far faster and more efficient train network in the country. Between the roads they built and the rail system crisscrossing the country and within each province, the Chinese have lifted the largest amount of people out of poverty in the shortest period of time in world history. And everyone has benefitted, not just people with proximity to roads.

    Essentially, what I'm saying is while roads bring micro-level benefits at the locality level, trains bring benefits to the entire economy, pulling more people out of poverty, making them consumers, and thereby increasing land values overall throughout the economy.

    Just my two cents 😃

    https://www.nationalgeographic.org/article/effects-transportation-economy/5th-grade/

    ***

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