Lok Sabha Question No. 822 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-02-07
Subject: Railway Infrastructure Projects in Tamil Nadu
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Dr. T. Sumathy (a) Thamizhachi Thangapandian

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.822

## TO BE ANSWERED ON 07.02.2024

## RAILWAY INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS IN TAMIL NADU

## 822. DR. T. SUMATHY (a) THAMIZHACHI THANGAPANDIAN:

## Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  the  huge  income  gathered  through  Southern  Railway  is being pooled back to railway projects in Tamil Nadu and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether  the  Government  has  plans  for  the  construction  of  new Road  Over Bridges, Rail Under  Bridges, Foot Over Bridges, Escalators and other infrastructure facilities like the installation of CCTVs  and  Digital  Rail  information  displays,  Multi  level  Parking facilities, etc. in Tamil Nadu and if so, the details thereof and the total amount allocated and disbursed for the same;
- (c) whether the Government has identified the railway infrastructure needs of Tamil Nadu and if so, the details thereof, division-wise; and
- (d)
- the details of total funds earmarked for the same?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, COMMUNICATIONS AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

(SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW)

- (a) to (d) A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.

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STATEMENT  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PARTS  (a)  TO  (d)  OF UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 822 BY DR. T. SUMATHY (a) THAMIZHACHI  THANGAPANDIAN  TO  BE  ANSWERED  IN  LOK  SABHA ON  07.02.2024  REGARDING  RAILWAY  INFRASTRUCTURE  PROJECTS IN TAMIL NADU

- (a) In 2022-23, total revenue generated by Southern Railway (SR) was 9,966.69  cr.  against expenditure  of 15,345.69  cr., implying thereby  that  Ministry  of  Railways  has  supported  SR's  additional expenditure over its revenue by 5,379  cr.  Additionally,  SR's  net Capital expenditure in 2022-23 from Gross Budgetary Support etc. for  creation  of  assets  like  New  lines,  Doubling,  Electrification, Station Development, Customer Amenities and other developmental works was   7,526.84 cr.
- (b) to (d) Railway Infrastructure Projects are taken up on the basis of remunerativeness, last mile connectivity, missing links and alternate routes, augmentation of congested/saturated lines, socioeconomic considerations etc. depending upon liabilities of ongoing projects,  overall  availability  of  funds  and  competing  demands. Sanction of Railway infrastructure projects in areas which are not connected by Railway network including coal connectivity projects is  a  continuous  and  ongoing  process  of  Indian  Railways.  The Railway Infrastructure projects are sanctioned Zonal Railway wise and  not  State  wise/UT  wise  as  the  Railways'  projects  may  span across various state boundaries.

works,  falling fully/partly in the State of Tamil Nadu has been increased to   6,080 crore this year which is nearly seven times of the average budget

Budget  allocation for Infrastructure and  safety allocation of   879 crore from 2009-14.

Tamil  Nadu  state  is  covered  by  Southern  Railway  (SR),  South Central  Railway  (SCR)  and  South  Western  Railway  (SWR).  As  on 01.04.23,  23  projects  (09  new  line,  03  Gauge  conversion  and  11 doubling)  of  total  length  of  2,848  Km  and  costing 35,580  crore falling fully/partly in the State of Tamil Nadu are at planning/approval/construction stage. These include: -

- I. 9 New Line projects covering total length of 871 km at a cost of 14,682 crore.
- II. 3 Gauge Conversion projects covering total length of 748 km at a cost of   5,224 crore
- III. 11 Doubling projects covering total length of 1,229 km at a cost
4. of   15,674 crore.

Though  fund allocation has increased manifold but pace of execution of project is dependent on expeditious land acquisition. Railway acquires the land through State Government. State Government   assesses   the compensation   amount   and   advises to Railway. On receipt of demand from State Government, Railway deposits  compensation  amount with concerned District Land Acquisition Authority. Execution of important infrastructure projects falling fully/partly in the State of Tamil Nadu is held up due to delay in land acquisition and only about 624 Ha land has been acquired out of  total  requirement of  about  1832  Ha.  Railway  had initiated  efforts  for  acquisition  of  land  but  could  not  succeed  in acquiring land for projects.

Augmentation  of  Passenger  Amenities  at  Railway  stations  is  a continuous  process.  Ministry  of  Railways  has  launched  'Amrit Bharat  Station  scheme'  for  development  of  Stations  on  Indian Railways.  So  far,  1318  number  of  railway  stations  including  77

railway stations in the State of Tamil Nadu have been identified for development/redevelopment under this scheme.

This  scheme  envisages  development  of  stations  on  a  continuous basis with a long term approach. It involves preparation of Master Plans and their implementation in phases to improve the amenities at  the  stations  like  improvement  of  station  access,  circulating areas, waiting halls, toilets, lift/escalators as necessary, cleanliness, free Wi-Fi, kiosks for local products through schemes like 'One Station One  Product', better  passenger  information systems, executive lounges, nominated spaces for business meetings, landscaping etc. keeping in view the necessity at each such station.

The  scheme  also  envisages  improvement  of  building,  integrating the  station  with  both  sides  of  the  city,  multimodal  integration, amenities  for  Divyangjans,  sustainable  and  environment  friendly solutions,  provision  of  ballast  less  tracks,  'Roof  Plazas'  as  per necessity,  phasing  and  feasibility  and  creation  of  city  centers  at the  station  in  the  long  term.  In  addition  to  the  above,  since 01.04.2014  (till  December  2023),  542  Road  Under  Bridges  (RUBs) and 134 Road Over Bridges (ROBs) have been completed in Tamil Nadu. Further, a total of 129 ROBs and 100 RUBs are in different stages of planning/execution.

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