Lok Sabha Question No. 2894 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-12-17
Subject: Pending Railway Projects in Tamil Nadu
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Shri Raja A

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.2894

## TO BE ANSWERED ON 17.12.2025

## PENDING RAILWAY PROJECTS IN TAMIL NADU

## 2894.   SHRI RAJA A:

Will the Minister of  RAILWAYS  be pleased to state:

- (a) the details of the pending railway projects in the State of Tamil Nadu;
- (b) the  details  of  the  sanctioned  cost  and  the  funds  released during  the  last  three  years  and  the  current  year  for  these pending railway projects;
- (c) the estimated timeline for completion of these pending railway projects; and
- (d) whether  the  Railways  has  received  proposals  for  railway projects from the public representatives from Tamil Nadu and if so, the details thereof and the action taken by the Railways in this regard?

## ANSWER

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

## (SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW)

(a) to (d):  Budget  allocation  in  the  recent  years  has  increased significantly. Budget allocation for infrastructure  projects  and  safety

## works, falling fully/partly in the State of Tamil Nadu is as under:

| Period   | Outlay                              |
|----------|-------------------------------------|
| 2009-14  | ₹879 crore/year                     |
| 2025-26  | ₹ 6,626 crore (more than 7.5 times) |

As on 01.04.2025, 15 projects (09 new line, 03 gauge conversion and 03 doubling) of  1,700 km  length, costing ₹22,808  crore, falling fully/partly in the State of Tamil Nadu, are sanctioned.  The summary is as under:-

| Category                |   No. of sanctioned projects | Total Length (in km)   |   Length Commissioned upto Mar'25 (in km) | Expenditure upto Mar' 25 (₹ in Cr.)   |
|-------------------------|------------------------------|------------------------|-------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------|
| New Line                |                            9 | 812                    |                                        24 | 1,337                                 |
| Gauge Conversion        |                            3 | 748                    |                                       604 | 3,471                                 |
| Doubling /Multitracking |                            3 | 140                    |                                        37 | 2,783                                 |
| Total                   |                           15 | 1,700                  |                                       665 | 7,591                                 |

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

|   S.N. | Project                                                  | Cost (₹ in Crores)   |
|--------|----------------------------------------------------------|----------------------|
|      1 | Dindigal-Palani-Pollachi gauge conversion (121 km)       | 610                  |
|      2 | Pollachi-Palghat gauge conversion (56 km)                | 350                  |
|      3 | Pollachi-Podhanur gauge conversion (40 km)               | 400                  |
|      4 | Quilon-Tirunelveli-Tiruchendur gauge conversion (357 km) | 1,122                |

|   5 | Mayiladuturai - Thiruvarur - Karaikkudi gauge conversion (187 km)      | 1,338   |
|-----|------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------|
|   6 | Madurai-Bodiyakannur gauge conversion (90 km)                          | 593     |
|   7 | Chengalpattu-Villupuram doubling (102 km)                              | 670     |
|   8 | Tiruvallur-Arakkonam 4th line (27 km)                                  | 83      |
|   9 | Chennai Central-Basin Bridge doubling (2 km)                           | 31      |
|  10 | Thanjavur-Ponmalai doubling (48 km)                                    | 370     |
|  11 | Villupuram-Dindigul doubling (273 km)                                  | 2,000   |
|  12 | Chennai Beach-Korukkupet 3rd line (5 km)                               | 168     |
|  13 | Chennai Beach-Attipattu 4th line (22 km)                               | 293     |
|  14 | Omalur-Metturdam Patch doubling (29 km)                                | 327     |
|  15 | Chengalpattu - Villupuram and Tambaram- Chengalpattu-3rd line (133 km) | 1,122   |
|  16 | Salem-Magnesite Junction-Omalur doubling (11 km)                       | 115     |
|  17 | Madurai- Maniyachi-Tuticorin doubling (160 km)                         | 1,891   |
|  18 | Maniyachi-Nagercoil doubling (102 km)                                  | 1,752   |
|  19 | Chennai Beach-Chennai Egmore doubling (4 km)                           | 272     |
|  20 | Karaikal-Peralam new line (23 km)                                      | 373     |
|  21 | Northern End Port connectivity to Karaikal Port (1 km)                 | 18      |

Some  of  the  projects  falling  fully/partly  in  the  State  of  Tamil  Nadu which have been taken up are as under :

|   S.N | Project                                      | Cost (₹ in Crores)   |
|-------|----------------------------------------------|----------------------|
|     1 | Tindivanam-Nagari new line (184 km)          | 3,631                |
|     2 | Morappur-Dharmapuri new line (36 km)         | 359                  |
|     3 | Nagapattinam-Tiruturaipundi new line (43 km) | 742                  |
|     4 | Trivandrum-Kanyakumari doubling (87 km)      | 3,785                |
|     5 | Arakkonam yard 3rd & 4th line (6 km)         | 98                   |

In last three years i.e. 2022-23, 2023-24, 2024-25 and current financial year 2025-26, 28 surveys (05 new line and 23 doubling) covering a total …4/-

length of 2,493 km has been sanctioned falling fully/partly in the State of Tamil Nadu.

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

| Total Land required for Projects in Tamil Nadu   | 4,326 ha       |
|--------------------------------------------------|----------------|
| Land Acquired                                    | 1,052 ha (24%) |
| Balance Land to be acquired                      | 3,274 ha (76%) |

Support of the  Government of Tamil Nadu is needed to expedite the land acquisition.

Details  of  some  major  projects  which  are  delayed  due  to  land acquisition are as under:-

|   SN | Name of the project                        |   Total land required (in ha) |   Land acquired (in ha) |   Balance Land to be acquired (in ha) |
|------|--------------------------------------------|-------------------------------|-------------------------|---------------------------------------|
|    1 | Tindivanam-Tiruvannamalai new line (71 km) |                           276 |                      33 |                                   243 |
|    2 | Attiputtu-Puttur new line (88 km)          |                           189 |                       0 |                                   189 |
|    3 | Morappur-Dharmapuri new line (36 km)       |                            92 |                      45 |                                    47 |
|    4 | Mannargudi-Pattukkottai new line (41 km)   |                           196 |                       0 |                                   196 |
|    5 | Thanjavur-Pattukottai new line (52 km)     |                           152 |                       0 |                                   152 |

Further, Rameshwaram -Dhanushkodi new line (18 km) was sanctioned at a cost of  ₹734 Cr. The Foundation Stone of the project was  laid  on  01.03.2019.  However,  the  project  could  not  be  started because  the  land  acquisition  has  not  been  undertaken  by  the  State Govt. of Tamil Nadu.

Government  of  India  is  geared  up  to  execute  projects,  however success depends upon the support of Government of Tamil Nadu.

Proposals/requests/suggestions/representations, both formal and informal for Railway projects/Works across the country are received on the  basis  of  demands  raised  by  State  Governments,  Members  of Parliament, Ministries of Central Government, elected representatives, Railways'  own  requirements,  organizations/rail  users  etc.  at  various levels including Railway Board, Zonal Railways, Division Office etc. As receipt of such proposals/complaints/suggestions is a continuous and dynamic  process,  centralized  compendium  of  such  requests  is  not maintained. However, these are examined and action as found feasible and justified is taken from time to time.

Sanction of any railway project depend upon many parameters/factors which include the following:

-  Anticipated  traffic  projections  and  remunerativeness  of  the proposed route

-  First and last mile connectivity provided by the project
-  Connection of missing links and providing additional route
-  Augmentation of congested/saturated lines
-  Demands raised by State Governments/Central Ministries/Public representatives
-  Railway's own operational requirements
-  Socio-economic considerations
-  Overall availability of funds

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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