Lok Sabha Question No. 148 (STARRED), answered on 2025-07-30
Subject: Mechanism to Monitor Railway Issues
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Shri K E Prakash

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 148 TO BE ANSWERED ON 30.07.2025

## MECHANISM TO MONITOR RAILWAY ISSUES

- *148.   SHRI K E PRAKASH:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a)  whether  it  is  a  fact  that  the  Government  has  received  requests  from the elected Public Representative from Erode  Lok Sabha Constituency on various issues relating to railway services being faced by the people there;
- (b) if so, the details thereof along with the steps taken thereon;
- (c)  the  reasons  for  delays  in  the  current  system  for  addressing  such constituency-specific requests; and
- (d) whether the Government proposes to establish any separate body/board/mechanism to systematically monitor/follow up on constituency-level  railway  issues  and  requests  made  by  the  elected representatives and if so, the details thereof ?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, INFORMATION & BROADCASTING 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 LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 148 TO BE ANSWERED ON 30.07.2025

(a) to (d): Proposals/requests/suggestions/representations, both formal and  informal  for    provision  of  various  facilities/amenities/services  for passengers  across  the  country  are  received  on  the  basis  of  demands raised by State Governments, Members of Parliament, 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.

As far  as  Erode  constituency  is  concerned,  various representations for  provision  of  Road  Over  Bridge  (ROB)/Road  Under  Bridge  (RUBs), Railway Waterway Bridge, stoppage of trains, etc. have been received.

## ROBs/RUBs

Sanctioning and execution of works of Road Over Bridges/Road Under Bridges (ROBs/RUBs) in lieu of Level Crossings (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.

Number  of  ROBs/RUBs  constructed  on  Indian  Railways  during  the period 2004-14 vis a vis 2014-25 (June'25) is as under:

| Period    | ROBs/RUBs constructed                             |
|-----------|---------------------------------------------------|
| 2004-14   | 4,148                                             |
| 2014-25   | 13,426 (including 747 in the State of Tamil Nadu) |
| (June'25) |                                                   |

As on 01.04.2025, 4,402    ROBs/RUBs are sanctioned at the cost of Rs. 1,00,860 crore on Indian Railways including 235 (ROBs)/(RUBs) at the cost of Rs. 4,669 crore in the State of Tamil Nadu, which are at various stages of planning and execution.

Presently,  13  ROBs/RUBs  are  sanctioned  in  Erode  Constituency which includes 03 Nos. ROBs sanctioned against demanded LC locations.

## Introduction/stoppage of trains

At  present,  Erode,    Kodumudi,  Pasur  and  Ingur,  which  are  major stations  located  in    Erode  Lok  Sabha  Constituency,  are  being  served  by 174 train services (including  4  Vande Bharat train services), 14, 8 and  6 train  services  respectively.  Besides,  provision  of  stoppage  of  trains  and rationalisation of timings of train services is an on-going process on Indian Railways, subject to traffic justification, operational feasibility, etc.

## Train introduced/extended, serving Erode

| Item         | Train No. and Name                                             | With effect from   |
|--------------|----------------------------------------------------------------|--------------------|
| Introduction | 18189/90 Tata Nagar - Ernakulam Express                        | 28.01.2021         |
| Introduction | 20643/44 Coimbatore - MGR Chennai Central Vande Bharat Express | 08.04.2023         |
| Introduction | 20641/42 Coimbatore - Bangalore Cantt. Vande Bharat Express    | 30.12.2023         |
| Introduction | 17421/22 Tirupati - Kollam Express                             | 15.03.2024         |
| Extension    | 16845/46 Erode - Tirunelveli Express upto Sengottai            | 24.01.2024         |

## Stoppages of train services provided at Kodumudi

| Item     | Train No. and Name                  | With effect from   |
|----------|-------------------------------------|--------------------|
| Stoppage | 16188 Ernakulam - Karaikkal Express | 18.07.2023         |
| Stoppage | 16235 Tuticorin - Mysuru Express    | 19.07.2023         |

## Provision of Infrastructure

Ministry of Railways has launched Amrit Bharat Station Scheme for 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 for Divyangjans, sustainable and environment friendly solutions, provision of ballastless tracks, etc. as per  necessity, phasing and feasibility and creation of city centre at the station in the long term.

So  far,  1,337  stations  covering  77  stations  from  the  state  of Tamil Nadu including Erode Junction station have been identified for development  under  the  Amrit  Bharat  Station  Scheme.  Development works at railway stations under Amrit Bharat Station Scheme in the state of Tamil Nadu have been taken up at a good pace. Till now, phase-I works of  09  stations  (Chidambaram,  Kulitturai,  Mannargudi,  Polur,  Samalpatti, Srirangam,  St.Thomas Mount, Tiruvannamalai, Vriddhachalam Jn) in the state of Tamil Nadu have been completed under this scheme.

At  Erode  Junction  station,  work  of  improvement  of  circulating area, improvement of parking area and construction of new commercial  building  has  been  completed.  Work  of  improvement  of platforms,  new  platform  shelter,  12  m  Foot  Over  Bridge,  lift  and escalators have been taken up.

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.

## Implementation of different projects in Southern Railway/Erode

Railway  projects  in  Tamil  Nadu  are  covered  by  Southern  Railway (SR), South Central Railway (SCR) and South Western Railway (SWR) zone of  Indian  Railways.  Zonal  Railway  wise  details  of  Railway  projects  are made available in public domain on Indian Railway's website.

As on 01.04.2025, 15 projects (9 New Line, 03 Gauge Conversion and 03  Doubling)  of  total  length  1,700  Km,  costing  ₹22,808    Crore,  falling fully/partly in the State of Tamil Nadu, are sanctioned, out of which 665 Km length  has  been  commissioned  and  an  expenditure of  ₹7,591  Crore    has been  incurred  upto  March' 2025.  The summary is as under:-

| Plan Head               |   No. of projects |   Total Length (in Km) |   Length Commissioned (in Km) | Expenditure upto March 2025 (₹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 |                   1700 |                           665 | 7,591                                   |

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) |

To further improve connectivity of Erode, following surveys have been sanctioned for preparing the Detailed Project Report (DPR): -

- (i) Jolarpettai - Erode - Coimbatore 3 rd  and 4 th  line (282 Km)
- (ii) Erode - Karur Doubling (67 Km)

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.

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   | 4315 Ha        |
|--------------------------------------------------|----------------|
| Land Acquired                                    | 1038 Ha ( 24%) |
| Balance Land to be acquired                      | 3277 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:-

|   S. No. | 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) |                           273 |                      33 |                                   240 |
|        2 | Attiputtu - Puttur New Line (88 km)        |                           189 |                       0 |                                   189 |
|        3 | Morappur - Dharmapuri (36 km)              |                            93 |                      42 |                                    51 |
|        4 | Mannargudi-Pattukkottai (41 km)            |                           196 |                       0 |                                   196 |
|        5 | Thanjavur-Pattukottai (52 km)              |                           152 |                       0 |                                   152 |

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

Completion of Railway project/s depends on various factors like quick land  acquisition  by  State  Government,  forest  clearance  by  officials  of forest department, shifting of infringing utilities, statutory clearances from various  authorities,  geological  and  topographical  conditions  of  area,  law and order situation in the area of project/s 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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