Kerala can hope for new high speed rail network soon: Sreedharan
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Malappuram (PTI): 'Metroman' E Sreedharan on Saturday said Kerala can hope to see a high-speed rail network that will cut travel-time to Kannur from Thiruvananthapuram to 3.15 hours, as the Centre is expected to formally announce the project soon.
Sreedharan, former Managing Director of the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), said that an office for the high speed rail project has already been established and work on preparing a Detailed Project Report (DPR) will commence there from February 2.
He said that once approved, the rail project -- which will replace the Left government's ambitious Silverline -- will be completed in five years at a cost of Rs 86,000 crore to Rs one lakh crore.
Of this amount, the state and central governments together will bear 60 per cent and the rest would be borrowed, he said.
He further said that 70 per cent of the rail line would be elevated, 20 per cent underground and only 10 per cent of it would be on the surface.
Therefore, the land to be acquired for it will be only one-third of that required for the Silverline project.
Furthermore, after completion of the project, the surplus land around the pillars would be given on lease for cultivation, he said.
The trains will have eight coaches that will accommodate 560 passengers, will travel at a maximum speed of 200 km per hour and stop at 22 stations, the Metroman said.
The high speed rail line will, however, end at Kannur and will not go up to Kasaragod for now.
"Extending it to Kasaragod or even Mangaluru can be considered later, if necessary," he said.
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ISRO successfully conducts second integrated air drop test for Gaganyaan mission
New Delhi (PTI): Space agency ISRO has successfully conducted the second integrated air drop test (IADT-02) for the upcoming Gaganyaan mission at the space station in Andhra Pradesh's Sriharikota.
The system is essential to ensure a safe recovery of the crew module -- the capsule in which astronauts sit during a human flight -- during re-entry and landing.
Union minister Jitendra Singh congratulated the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) for successfully conducting the test.
"Congratulations #ISRO for the successful accomplishment of Second Integrated Air Drop Test (IADT-02) for #Gaganyaan, India's first Human Space flight scheduled next year. The second Integrated Air Drop Test (IADT-02) was successfully conducted at Satish Dhawan Space Station Sriharikota," Singh said in a post on X.
The IADT-02 follows the successful completion of the first IADT, which took place on August 24, 2025, at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota.
Air drop tests recreate the last leg of a spacecraft's return to Earth. An aircraft or helicopter drops the spacecraft from a height to test various systems under different scenarios.
These are the deployment of the parachute system in case the mission is aborted mid-flight, system performance when one parachute fails to open and the spacecraft's orientation and safety during splashdown etc.
In the IADT-02 test, a simulated crew module, weighing about 5.7 tonnes, was lifted by an Indian Air Force Chinook helicopter to an altitude of about three kilometres and released over a designated drop zone in the sea, near the Sriharikota coast.
In a statement, the ISRO said, "Ten parachutes of four types were deployed in a precise sequence during the descent of the crew module, gradually reducing the velocity for safe touchdown. Subsequently, the simulated crew module was successfully recovered in coordination with the Indian Navy."
