Lok Sabha Question No. 3751 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-12-18
Subject: Railway Projects in Southern Railway Zone
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Shri Mani A

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3751

## TO BE ANSWERED ON 18.12.2024

## RAILWAY PROJECTS IN SOUTHERN RAILWAY ZONE

## 3751.  SHRI MANI A:

Will the Minister of  RAILWAYS  be pleased to state:

- (a) the details of major railway projects undertaken in the Southern Railway zone during the last five years;
- (b) the project-wise funds released for the same;
- (c) the  status  of  each  project  and  the  expected  timelines  for completion;
- (d) whether funds have been released specifically for the modernization of infrastructure in the Southern Railway zone;
- (e) if so, the details of modernization works, including electrification, station upgrades, and signaling systems;
- (f) the quantum of funds utilized for these purposes; and
- (g) the  comparative  details  of  development  funds  allocated  to  all railway  zones  including  said  Railways,  during  the  last  three years?

## ANSWER

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

(SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW)

- (a) to (g): Railway projects are sanctioned on the basis of remunerativeness, traffic projections, last  mile  connectivity,  missing

links and alternate routes, augmentation of congested/saturated lines, demands raised by State Governments, Central Ministries, Members of Parliament,  other  public  representatives,  Railway's  own  operational requirement, socio-economic considerations etc. depending upon throwforward of ongoing projects and overall availability of funds.

Zonal Railway wise details of Railway projects including cost, expenditure and outlay are made available in public domain on Indian Railway's website.

As on 01.04.2024, across Indian Railways, 488 Railway infrastructure projects  (187  New  Line,  40  Gauge  Conversion  and  261  Doubling)  of total  length  44,488  Km,  costing approx.  ₹7.44  lakh  crore  are  in planning/approval/construction stage, out of which, 12,045 Km length has  been  commissioned  and  an  expenditure  of  approx.  ₹2.92  lakh crore has been incurred upto March, 2024. The summary is as under:-

| Plan Head              |   No of Projects | Total Length (Km)   | Length Commissioned till Mar'24 (Km)   | Balance length on 01.04.2024 (Km)   |
|------------------------|------------------|---------------------|----------------------------------------|-------------------------------------|
| New Lines              |              187 | 20,199              | 2,855                                  | 1,60,022                            |
| Gauge Conversion       |               40 | 4,719               | 2,972                                  | 18,706                              |
| Doubling/Multitracking |              261 | 19,570              | 6,218                                  | 1,13,742                            |
| Total                  |              488 | 44,488              | 12,045                                 | 2,92,470                            |

As  on  01.04.2024,  27  Railways  projects  (12  New  Line,  03  Gauge Conversion and 12 Doubling) of total length 2,436 Km, costing  ₹36,710 …3/-

Crore,  falling  fully/partly  in  Southern  Railway  zone,  are  at  various stages  of  planning  and  implementation,  out  of  which  655  Km  length has  been  commissioned  and  an  expenditure  of  ₹7,758 Crore  has been incurred  upto  March' 2024.  The summary is as under:-

| Plan Head               |   No. of projects |   Total Length (in Km) |   Length Commissioned (in Km) |   Expenditure upto March 2024 (₹in Cr.) |
|-------------------------|-------------------|------------------------|-------------------------------|-----------------------------------------|
| New Line                |                12 |                   1018 |                            24 |                                    1526 |
| Gauge Conversion        |                 3 |                    748 |                           604 |                                    3267 |
| Doubling /Multitracking |                12 |                    670 |                            27 |                                    2965 |
| Total                   |                27 |                   2436 |                           655 |                                    7758 |

## Tamil Nadu;-

Major portion of Southern Railway zone falls in the State of Tamil Nadu and  Kerala.  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                  |
| 2024-25  | ₹6,362 crore (more than 7 times) |

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 and the completion of a railway  projects  is  dependent  of  land  acquisition.    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 the State of Tamil Nadu is as under:

| Total Land required for Projects in Tamil Nadu   | 3389 Ha       |
|--------------------------------------------------|---------------|
| Land Acquired                                    | 866 Ha (26%)  |
| Balance Land to be acquired                      | 2523 Ha (74%) |

Government  of  India  is  geared  up  to  execute  projects,  however success depends upon the support of Government of Tamil Nadu.  For instance, 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) |                           273 |                      33 |                                   240 |
|    2 | Attiputtu-Puttur New Line (88 Km)            |                           189 |                       0 |                                   189 |
|    3 | Morappur - Dharmapuri (36 Km)                |                            93 |                       0 |                                    93 |
|    4 | Mannargudi-Pattukkottai (41 Km)              |                           152 |                       0 |                                   152 |
|    5 | Thanjavur - Pattukottai (52 Km)              |                           196 |                       0 |                                   196 |

## Kerala:-

Major portion of Southern Railway zone falls in the State of Tamil Nadu and  Kerala.  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                  |
| 2024-25  | ₹3,011 crore (more than 8 times) |

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   | 475 Ha       |
|----------------------------------------------|--------------|
| Land Acquired                                | 64 Ha (13%)  |
| Balance Land to be acquired                  | 411 Ha (87%) |

Government  of  India  is  geared  up  to  execute  projects,  however success depends upon the support of Government of Kerala.  Railway had  deposited  ₹2111.83  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:-

|   SN | 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    |                   24.4  |                                391.6  |
|    2 | Ernakulam - Kumbalam Patch Doubling (8 Km) |                          4.2  |                    1.59 |                                  2.61 |
|    3 | Kumbalam - Turavur Patch Doubling (16 Km)  |                         10.3  |                    5.3  |                                  5    |
|    4 | Trivandrum - Kanyakumari Doubling (87 Km)  |                         40.15 |                   32.69 |                                  7.46 |
|    5 | Shoranur - Vallathol Doubling (10 Km)      |                          4.77 |                    0    |                                  4.77 |

During last five  years  i.e.  FY  2019-20,  FY  2020-21,  FY  2021-2022,  FY 2022-23,  FY  2023-24  and  current  Financial  Year  2024-25,  total  04 projects (  01  New  Line  and  03  Doubling)  of  a  total  length  of  75  Km, costing ₹932 Crore falling fully/partly  in  Southern  Railway  zone  have been sanctioned.

However, Survey of total 30 projects (6 New Line and 24 Doubling) of total length 2802 Km falling fully/partly in Southern Railway zone have been sanctioned during  last five  year  i.e.  2019-20,  2020-21,  2021-22, 2022-23,  2023-24 and current financial year 2024-25.

The completion of any Railway project depends on various factors like quick  land  acquisition  by  State  Government,  forest  clearance  by officials  of  forest  department,  deposition  of  cost  share  by  State Government  in  cost  sharing  projects,  priority  of  projects,  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 due to climate conditions etc.

Out of total 5,040 Rkm of Broad Gauge lines in the Southern Railway, 4,801 Rkm have already been electrified and balance sections of 239 Rkm, has been taken up for electrification.

During  the  last  five  years  including  current  Financial  Year  2024-25 ₹1822.51 crore have been allocated to Southern Railway for Signal & Telecommunication works of which ₹1598.75 crore have been utilized till 30.11.2024.

Ministry  of  Railways  has  launched  'Amrit  Bharat  Station  Scheme'  for development  of  Railway  stations  on  Indian  Railways.  This  scheme envisages development of stations on a continuous basis with a longterm 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, 1337 stations have been identified under Amrit Bharat Station Scheme, out of which 116 stations fall under Southern Railway. The names of stations identified for development under this Scheme in the Southern Railway are as following:

| Zonal railway    |   No. of Amrit Stations | Names of Amrit Stations                                                                                                  |
|------------------|-------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Southern Railway |                     116 | Alappuzha, Ambasamudram, Ambattur, Angadippuram, Angamali For Kaladi, Arakkonam Jn, Ariyalur, Avadi, Bommidi, Chalakudi, |

| Changanassery, Chengalpattu Jn, Chengannur, Chennai Beach, Chennai Egmore, Chennai Park, Chidambaram, Chinna Salem, Chirayinikil, Chrompet, Coimbatore Jn, Coimbatore North, Coonoor, Dindigul, Dr. M.G. Ramachandran Central, Ernakulam, Ernakulam Town, Erode Jn, Ettumanur, Ferok, Guduvancheri, Guindy, Gummidipundi, Guruvayur, Jolarpettai Jn, Kanniyakumari Terminus, Kannur, Karaikal, Karaikkudi Jn, Karur Jn, Kasargod, Katpadi Jn, Kayankulam Jn, Kollam Jn (Quilon), Kovilpatti, Kozhikode Main (Calicut), Kulitturai, Kumbakonam, Kuttippuram, Lalgudi, Madurai Jn, Mahe, Mambalam, Manaparai, Mangalore Central, Mangalore Jn, Mannargudi, Mavelikara, Mayiladuturai Jn, Mettupalayam, Morappur, Nagercoil Jn, Namakkal, Neyyattinkara, Nilambur Road, Ottappalam, Palani, Paramakkudi, Parappanangadi, Payyanur, Perambur, Podanur Jn, Pollachi Jn, Polur, Puducherry, Pudukkottai, Punalur, Rajapalayam, Ramanathapuram, Rameswaram, Salem, Samalpatti, Sholavandan, Shoranur Jn, Srirangam, Srivilliputtur, St.Thomas Mount, Sullurpeta, Tambaram, Tenkasi, Thalassery, Thanjavur Jn, Thiruvananthapuram,   |
|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

Thiruvarur Jn, Thrisur, Tiruchendur, Tirunelveli Jn, Tirupadripulyur, Tirupattur, Tiruppur, Tirur, Tirusulam, Tiruttani, Tiruvalla, Tiruvallur, Tiruvannamalai, Tripunithura, Tuticorin, Udagamandalam, Vadakara, Varkala, Vellore Cantt., Villupuram Jn, Virudhunagar, Vriddhachalam Jn, Wadakancheri

Out  of  116  Amrit  stations  identified  under  Amrit  Bharat  Station Scheme in Southern Railway, tenders have been awarded and works have been taken up for 107 stations. The projects have exhibited good pace of execution. For example,

At  Madurai  station,  structural  works  of  east  side  multi-level  twowheeler  parking  and  electric  substation  have  been  completed  and works of east side terminal building, both sides multi-level car parking, air concourse, parcel Foot Over Bridge, subway, etc. have been taken up.

At  Chennai  Egmore  station,  structural  work  of  parcel  building  have been  completed  and  works  of  both  sides  multi-level  car  parking,  GI Road side terminal building, etc. have been taken up.

At  Samalpatti  station,  works  of  construction  of  new  main  terminal building and main entry side circulating area have been completed and works of second entry parking area, raising of platform, construction of compound wall, etc. have been taken up.

At Kollam station, service building work has been completed. Structural works  of multi-level car parking, south  side terminal building  (Block-A&B)  and  parcel  building  have  been  completed  and works  of  south  side  terminal  building  (Block-C),  air  concourse,  Foot Over Bridge, platform improvement, platform shelters, etc. have been taken up.

At  Kuttippuram  station,  works  of  improvement  of  circulating  area, parking area, waiting hall, construction of new platform shelters, new porch and entry ramp have been completed and work of improvement of booking office has been taken up.

At  Thalassery  station,  works  of  improvement  of  concourse  area, booking office, parking areas, construction of new platform shelters, porch  and  covered  walkway  have  been  completed  and  work  of circulating area has been taken up.

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,  air-port  clearance  etc.  The  progress  also  gets  affected due  to  brownfield  related  challenges  such  as  shifting  of  utilities, (involving  water/sewage  lines,  optical  fibre  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 tracks and high voltage power lines, etc. and these factors affect the completion time. Therefore, no time frame can be indicated at this stage.

Upgradation/development/redevelopment 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. However, priority for upgradation/development/redevelopment  of  stations  is  accorded  to higher  category  of  station  over  lower  category  of  station  while sanctioning and executing the works.

Development/upgradation/modernization  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  project-wise. During  last  three  financial  years  and  in  the  current  financial  year, allocation  of  Rs  2,595  Crores  has  been  made  for  Southern  Railway under  Plan  Head-53  and  expenditure  of  Rs  1,635  Crores  has  been incurred during the last three financial years and in current financial year i.e. 2024-25 (up to October, 2024).

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