A. Harikumar
A passenger terminal origin destination (OD) survey conducted at airports, bus terminals and train terminals in Kerala, as part of the detaied project report (DPR) of the proposed SilverLine project, found that while a majority are willing to shift to SilverLine, only a minority are willing to pay more than what they currently spend for their journey.
The OD survey results are detailed in the travel demand forecast section of the SilverLine DPR. The SilverLine project aims to build a semi-high speed train corridor connecting Kasaragod, the northernmost district of Kerala with the state capital Thiruvananthapuram, located at the southern tip of the state.The SilverLine will feature state-of-the-art trains running at an average speed of 200 km per hour, bringing down the travel time between both ends of the state from the current 12 hours to around four hours.
The takeaway from the survey is clear; majority of passengers are unwilling to spend more for a cozy quick SilverLine ride, even if it helps them save precious time. A majority of Malayali passengers are likely to ignore SilverLine, if it burns a hole in their pocket.
This clearly raises questions about the viability of the SilverLine, esp. If more intra-state flights commence. The development of existing railway network and widening of national highways could also affect the prospects of SilverLine, as it will make existing modes of travel more speedier and comfortable.
Survey details
As part of the survey, passengers were interviewed at identified terminals (4 Airports, 4 Bus Terminals, and 4 Train Terminals) to understand their existing travel pattern. The survey has detailed the characteristics of the passengers and their prefereces.
At airports. 96 % of the total respondents showed willingness to shift to SilverLine, says the DPR. Interstingly, the desired time saving for majority of the respondents was less than 30 minutes and 30-60 minutes.
At the bus terminals 97 % of the total commuters showed willingness to shift to SilverLine. But, most of the commuters are only willing to pay same fare as their existing mode (39 %). 39 % and 16% of respondents expressed willingness to pay 1.25 and 1.5 times of the fare respectively
At the railway terminals 98 % of the passengers showed willingness to shift to SilverLine. Most of the rail passengers are only willing to pay same fare (44 %). 42 % and 10 % expressed willingness to pay 1.25 and 1.5 times respectively.
According to DPR, the general trend observed from the data collected is that as fare increases, willingness to shift to SilverLine decreases, and people will prefer present mode. People travelling by flight and AC class are showing more willingness to shift to SilverLine across all scenarios. Also at same fare, as frequency decreases people are showing less willingness to shift
The results of the survey featured in the DPR underscores the fact that future of SilverLine, which is proposed to be built by Kerala government alone with borrowed funds will be heavily dependent on the future economic growth of the state. Only an increased economic growth and more opportunities will make SilverLine viable.
