Lok Sabha Question No. 4500 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-08-20
Subject: Nilambur-Nanjangud and Thalassery-Mysore Railway Lines
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Smt. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.4500 TO BE ANSWERED ON 20.08.2025

## NILAMBUR-NANJANGUD AND THALASSERY-MYSORE RAILWAY LINES

## 4500. SMT. PRIYANKA GANDHI VADRA:

Will the Minister of  RAILWAYS  be pleased to state:

- (a) the  current  status  of  the  proposed  Nilambur-Nanjangud  and Thalassery-Mysore Railway lines;
- (b) the details of the reasons for the delay in the completion of the final location survey, and preparation of the DPR;
- (c) the  details  of  the  initiatives  being  taken  to  augment  line capacity on the Shoranur-Nilambur section; and
- (d) Whether the State Government has forwarded proposals for the introduction  of  additional  passenger  trains  in  the  ShoranurNilambur section and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

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

(SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW)

(a) to (d): The Survey of Nilambur-Nanjangud new line was carried out  in  2007-08  but  project  could  not  be  taken  forward  due  to  low traffic projections.  However,  on  public demand,  a  fresh  Final Location Survey (FLS) for Nilambur-Nanjangud new line project (236 Km) has been sanctioned in 2023 for preparation of Detailed Project Report (DPR).

The Survey of Thalassery-Mysore new line was carried out in 200809  but  project  could  not  be  taken  forward  due  to  low  traffic projections.  A  survey  was  again  attempted  in  2018  but  could  not proceed  because  of  the  protests  from  the  villagers  along  the alignment.  Moreover, this alignment also passes through the forest and  the  eco-sensitive  zones.  However,  on  public  demand,  the feasibility  for  new  alignment  is  taken  up  now  integrating  with Nilambur - Nanjangud line in Karnataka portion.

After  firming  up  of  Detailed  Project  Report  (DPR),  sanctioning  of project  requires  consultation  with  various  stake-holders  including State  Governments and necessary approvals viz. appraisal of  NITI Aayog,  Ministry  of  Finance  etc.  As  sanctioning  of  projects  is  a continuous and dynamic process, exact timelines cannot be fixed.

Upgradation and improvement of railway tracks have been carried out  in  Shoranur-Nilambur  section  to  augment  the  speed  potential. The measures for track upgradation include use of 60 kg rails, thick web switches, longer rail panel, modern track renewal and maintenance  systems  etc.  As  a  result  of  above  measures,  speed potential of Shoranur-Nilambur section has been increased from 75 kmph  to  85  kmph  during  2024-25  which  is  a  maximum  attainable speed in this existing Ghat section.

To  facilitate  the  passengers  of  Nilambur  -  Shoranur  sector,  it  has been  decided  to  introduce  a  new  train  viz.  66325/66326  Nilambur Road-Shoranur MEMU  between Nilambur Road and Shoranur. Introduction of new trains on any route/section depends on various factors which include:

-  Capacity of that section,
-  Availability of path,
-  Availability of required rolling stock,
-  Availability of matching infrastructure for rolling stock,
-  Maintenance requirement of railway tracks and other assets

Presently,  07  pairs  of  train  services  are  serving  the  Shoranur  Nilambur  route.  Line  capacity  of  Shoranur  -  Nilambur  section  is sufficient to handle the present traffic requirement.

Representations/requests,  both  formal  and  informal,  are  received from State Governments, Ministries of Central Government, Elected Representatives, Consultative Committees etc. by the  Railways at various  levels  including  Railway  Board,  Zonal  Railways,  Divisional office etc. As receipt of such representations/requests is a continuous and dynamic process, centralized compendium of such representations/requests is not maintained. However, these representations/requests etc. are dealt as per laid down procedure/guidelines  and  action  as  found  feasible  and  justified  is taken from time to time.

## Kerala:

Budget  allocation  in  the  recent  years  has  increased  significantly. Budget  allocation  for  Infrastructure  projects  and  safety  works, falling fully/partly in the State of Kerala is as under:

| Period   | Outlay                           |
|----------|----------------------------------|
| 2009-14  | ₹372 crore/year                  |
| 2025-26  | ₹3,042 crore (more than 8 times) |

As  on  01.04.2025,  06  projects  (02  new  lines,  and  04  Doubling)  of total  length  of  266  Km,  costing  ₹9,415  crore,  falling  fully/partly  in the State of Kerala, are at various stages of planning and implementation, out  of which 26 Km length has been commissioned and an expenditure of ₹3,250 crore has been incurred upto March, 2025. The summary is as under:-

| Category                |   No. of projects |   Total Length (in Km) |   Length Commissioned (in Km) | Expenditure upto March 2025 (₹ in Cr.)   |
|-------------------------|-------------------|------------------------|-------------------------------|------------------------------------------|
| New Line                |                 2 |                    146 |                             0 | 309                                      |
| Doubling/ Multitracking |                 4 |                    120 |                            26 | 2,941                                    |
| Total                   |                 6 |                    266 |                            26 | 3,250                                    |

Details of some of the recently completed projects falling fully/partly in Kerala are as under:-

|   S.No. | Project                                                                    | Cost (₹ in Cr.)   |
|---------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------|
|       1 | Dindigul-Pollachi-Palghat & Pollachi- Coimbatore Gauge Conversion (217 Km) | 1,360             |
|       2 | Quilon-Tirunelveli-Tiruchendur Gauge Conversion (357 Km)                   | 1,122             |
|       3 | Mulanturutti-Kuruppantara Doubling (24 Km)                                 | 303               |
|       4 | Chenganur-Chingavanam Doubling (27 Km)                                     | 436               |
|       5 | Ambalapuzha-Haripad Doubling (18 Km)                                       | 346               |
|       6 | Kurruppanthara-Chingavanam Doubling (27 Km)                                | 749               |

The  Government  of  India  is  working  diligently  to  strengthen  the railway  network  in  Kerala.  To  strengthen  the  railway  network passing through Kerala, the following surveys have been sanctioned:

|   S. No. | Route                                  | Length   |
|----------|----------------------------------------|----------|
|        1 | Mangaluru - Shoranur 3 rd & 4 th Line  | 308 Km   |
|        2 | Shoranur - Coimbatore 3 rd & 4 th Line | 99 Km    |
|        3 | Shoranur - Ernakulam 3 rd Line         | 107 Km   |

|   4 | Ernakulam - Kayankulam 3 rd Line (via Kottayam)   | 115 Km   |
|-----|---------------------------------------------------|----------|
|   5 | Kayankulam - Thiruvanathapuram 3 rd Line          | 105 Km   |
|   6 | Thiruvananthapuram - Nagercoil 3 rd Line          | 71 Km    |

Execution of important infrastructure projects falling fully/partly in the  State  of  Kerala  are  held  up  due  to  delay  in  land  acquisition. Status of land acquisition in the State of Kerala is as under:

| Total Land required for Projects in Kerala   | 476 Ha       |
|----------------------------------------------|--------------|
| Land Acquired                                | 73 Ha (15%)  |
| Balance Land to be acquired                  | 403 Ha (85%) |

Government  of  India  is  geared  up  to  execute  projects,  however success  depends  upon  the  support  of  Government  of  Kerala. Railway had deposited ₹2,112 crore for land acquisition to Government  of  Kerala.    Support  of  the  Government  of  Kerala  is needed  to  expedite  the  land  acquisition.  For  instance,  details  of some major projects which are delayed due to land acquisition are as under:-

|   S. No. | Name of the project                        |   Total land required (in Ha) |   Land acquired (in Ha) |   Balance Land to be acquired (in Ha) |
|----------|--------------------------------------------|-------------------------------|-------------------------|---------------------------------------|
|        1 | Angamali - Sabarimala new line (111 Km)    |                           416 |                      24 |                                   392 |
|        2 | Ernakulam - Kumbalam Patch Doubling (8 Km) |                             4 |                       3 |                                     1 |
|        3 | Kumbalam - Turavur Patch Doubling (16 Km)  |                            10 |                       9 |                                     1 |
|        4 | Trivandrum - Kanyakumari Doubling (87 Km)  |                            41 |                      36 |                                     5 |
|        5 | Shoranur - Vallathol Doubling (10 Km)      |                             5 |                       0 |                                     5 |

Completion of Railway project/s depends on various factors which include the following:

-  Land acquisition by State Government
-  Forest clearance
- 
- Shifting of infringing utilities
-  Statutory clearances from various authorities
-  Geological and topographical conditions of area
-  Law and order situation in the area of project site
-  Number of working months in a year for particular project site etc.

All  these  factors  affect  the  completion  time  and  cost  of  the project/s.

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