Lok Sabha Question No. 634 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-07-23
Subject: Railway Development Work in Kollam
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Shri N K Premachandran

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 634 TO BE ANSWERED ON 23.07.2025

## RAILWAY DEVELOPMENT WORK IN KOLLAM

## 634.   SHRI N K PREMACHANDRAN:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a)  whether  the  Government  proposes  to  complete  the  Railway Development  works  in  a  time  bound  manner,  if  so  the  action  taken thereon;
- (b) the present status of Railway Development work in Kollam Railway Station and proposed date of its completion;
- (c) the details of the action taken for preservation of Chinese Palace in Kollam Railway Station;
- (d)  the  details  of  the  action  taken  for  the  construction  of  Kundara  Pallimukku ROB and the proposed date of its completion;
- (e)  whether  the  Government proposes  to  include  the  construction  of the said ROB in the special scheme of Railways for funding 100% cost by the Railways;
- (f) if so, the action taken thereon; and
- (g) the details of action taken by the Government for timely completion
- of ROBs in Kollam Lok sabha Constituency?

## ANSWER

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

(SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW)

- (a)  to  (g):  Ministry  of  Railways  has  launched  Amrit  Bharat  Station Scheme for redevelopment of stations. So far, 1337 stations have been
- identified for development under Amrit Bharat Station Scheme.

Presently  Phase-I  work  of  105  stations  have  been  completed  and commissioned  and  works  have  been  taken  up  at  1110  stations. Further, 35 stations located in state of Kerala including Kollam railway stations  have  been  identified  for  development  under  Amrit  Bharat Station Scheme.

Out of these 35 stations, the development works have been taken up on  33  stations.  The  works  have  been  taken  up  at  a  good  pace.  The progress at some of these stations is as given below:

At Kollam station, the work of service building, substation, Multi level car  parking  and  structural  work  of  parcel  building,  south  terminal segment  I  (Block  A  &  B)    have  been  completed.    The  work  for structural work of south terminal segment I (block C), south terminal segment II, foot over bridge, air concourse and platform shelter works have been taken up.

At  Punalur  station,  works  of  provision  of  lifts,  new  platform  shelter, passenger information system, train indication boards, coach indication boards have been completed and the works of improvements in circulating area and parking area, station elevation including  portico,  separate  pedestrian  pathway  and  construction  of new waiting hall have been taken up.

At  Ernakulam  Town,  the  Structural  work  of  West  Terminal  building  Segment  1  and  residential  tower  is  completed  and  block  work  and plastering works have been taken up. The foundation work for the foot over  bridge  gangway  has  been  completed.  The  6th  floor  slab  work, block work and plastering work of Multi level car parking have been taken up.

The Amrit Bharat Station 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,  platform  surfacing  and  cover  over  platform,  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 station.

The scheme also envisages improvement of building, integrating  the station with both sides of the city, multimodal integration, amenities solutions, provision  of  ballastless  tracks,  etc.  as  per  necessity,  phasing  and for Divyangjans, sustainable and environment friendly feasibility and creation of city centre at the station in the long term.

Development/upgradation of stations on Indian Railways is a continuous and ongoing process and works in this regard are undertaken  as per requirement, subject to inter-se priority and availability of funds.  The  priority  for  development/upgradation  of stations is accorded to higher category of station over lower category of station while sanctioning and executing the works.

Development  /  upgradation  of  stations  including  under  Amrit  Bharat Station  Scheme  is  generally  funded  under  Plan  Head-53  'Customer Amenities'. The details of allocation under Plan Head-53 are maintained  Zonal  Railway-wise  and  not  work-wise  or  station-wise  or State-wise.  Kollam  railway  station  falls  under  the  jurisdiction of Southern  Railways  for  which  a  total  allocation  of  Rs  1122  crores (Budget Estimate) has been made for the financial year 2025-26 under Plan Head-53.

Further,  development/redevelopment/upgradation  of  Railway  Stations is  complex  in  nature  involving  safety  of  passengers  &  trains  and requires various statutory clearances such as fire clearance, heritage, tree  cutting,  airport  clearance  etc.  The  progress  also  gets  affected due  to  brown  field  related  challenges  such  as  shifting  of  utilities, (involving  water/sewage  lines,  optical  fiber  cables,  gas  pipe  lines, power/signal  cables  etc.,)  infringements,  operation  of  trains  without hindering  passenger  movement,  speed  restrictions  due  to  works carried  out  in  close  proximity  of  high  voltage  power  lines  etc.  and these factors affect the completion time. Therefore, no time frame can be indicated at this stage. The  work  for  construction  of  Road  Over  Bridge  (ROB)  at  Kundara  Pallimukku in lieu of LC No.526 at Km.748/1-2 in between EzhukoneKundara stations in Kollam- Sengottai section of Madurai division was sanctioned  at  the  cost  Rs.37.24  crore  in  the  year  2012-13  on  cost sharing basis. This work is being executed on dual entity basis i.e.  Railway portion by  railway  and  approaches  portion  by  State  Govt.  i.e.  Roads  and Bridges  Development  Corporation  of  Kerala  Limited  (RBDCK).  Land Acquisition is yet to be done by State Govt.  The General Arrangement Drawing (GAD) has been approved. Sanctioning and execution of works of Road Over Bridges/ Road Under Bridges  (ROBs/RUBs)  in  lieu  of  LCs  is  a  continuous  and  ongoing process on Indian Railways. Such works are prioritized and taken up on  the  basis  of  its  impact  on  safety  and  mobility  in  train  operations and impact on road users.

No.  of  ROBs/RUBs  constructed  on  Indian  Railways  during  the  period 2004-14 vis-a-vis 2014-26 (upto June'25) is as under:

| Period                 | ROBs/RUBs constructed                             |
|------------------------|---------------------------------------------------|
| 2004-14                | 4148                                              |
| 2014-26 (upto June'25) | 13426 (including 118 Nos. in the state of Kerala) |

As  on  dt.  01.04.2025,  4402  Nos.  ROBs/  RUBs  are  sanctioned  at  the cost of Rs. 100860 crore on Indian Railways including 140 Nos. Road Over Bridges / Road Under Bridges at the cost of Rs. 4837 crore in the State of Kerala, which are at various stages of planning and execution. Out of which, 49 Nos. ROBs works in the state of Kerala are held up due to delay in land acquisition

Presently,  13  nos.  ROBs/FOB  with  ramp  are  sanctioned  in  Kollam Parliamentary  constituency  which  are  at  various  stages  of  planning and execution.

Completion and commissioning of ROB/RUB works depend on various factors like cooperation of  State Governments in giving  consent for closure  of  LCs,   fixing  of  approach  alignment,  approval  of  General Arrangement Drawing (GAD), land acquisition, removal of encroachments,  shifting  of  infringing  utilities,  statutory  clearances from  various  authorities,   law  and  order  situation  in  the  area  of project/work  sites,   duration  of  working  season  in  a  year  for  the particular  project/area   due  to  climatic  conditions  etc.   All  these factors affect the completion time of the projects / works.

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