Lok Sabha Question No. 3140 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-03-11
Subject: Funding for Angamaly-Erumely Sabari Railway Projects
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Shri V K Sreekandan

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3140

## TO BE ANSWERED ON 11.03.2026

## FUNDING FOR ANGAMALY-ERUMELY SABARI RAILWAY PROJECTS

## 3140. SHRI V K SREEKANDAN:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether it is a fact that the Kerala has agreed to bear 50 per cent of the cost  of  the  Angamaly-Erumely  Sabari  Railway  Project  and  if  so,  the details thereof;
- (b) whether it is also a fact that this is the first instance in India where a State Government has taken responsibility for funding a railway project and if so, the details thereof; and
- (c) the details of the steps taken by the Railways to execute the project in light of the fact that the State Government is willing to bear 50 per cent of the project cost?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, INFORMATION & BROADCASTING AND

## ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

(SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW)

(a)  to  (c):    Angamali  -  Sabarimala    via    Erumeli    new    line    project    was sanctioned  in  1997-98.  Work  on  Angamali-Kaladi  (7  Km)  and  long  lead works  on  Kaladi-Perumbavoor  (10  Km)  was  taken  up.  However,  further works on this project could not be taken forward due to protests by people against  land  acquisition  and  fixing  of  alignment  of  the  line,  court  cases filed  against  the  project  and  inadequate  support from the  Government of Kerala. Therefore, the project could not proceed ahead.

The estimated cost of the Angamali - Sabarimala  via  Erumeli  new  line project  was  updated  at  ₹3,801  crore  and  submitted  to  Government  of Kerala for the acceptance of the estimate and willingness to share cost of the project.

In August 2024, the Government of Kerala communicated their conditional consent.  Government  of  Kerala  was  requested  by  Railway  to  submit unconditional consent for sharing the cost.

Then  the  Minister  of  Railways  requested  the  Chief  Minister  of  Kerala  to acquire land using their share of 50% of the cost of the project. Once land acquisition by State starts, work can proceed further.

Now, on the request of Govt. of India, the Govt. of Kerala has initiated land acquisition  proceedings  and  the  Angamali  -  Sabarimala  new  line  project has moved  forward. Ministry of Railways is following up the land acquisition process with Govt. of Kerala.

## 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  including  Angamali  -  Sabarimala project 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  line  and  04  doubling)  of  266  km length,  costing  ₹9,415  crore  falling  fully/partly  in  Kerala  are  sanctioned. The summary is as under:-

| Category                |   No. of projects | Total Length   | Length Commissioned   | Balance to complete   | Expenditure upto March 2025 (₹in Crore)   |
|-------------------------|-------------------|----------------|-----------------------|-----------------------|-------------------------------------------|
| New line                |                02 | 146 km         | 0 km                  | 146 km                | 309                                       |
| Doubling /multitracking |                04 | 120 km         | 26 km                 | 94 km                 | 2,941                                     |
| Total                   |                06 | 266 km         | 26 km                 | 240 km                | 3,250                                     |

Zonal Railway wise details of Railway projects are made available in public domain on Indian Railway's website.

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

|   S. N | Project                                                                         | Cost (₹ in Crores)   |
|--------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------|
|      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                  |

## Some of the projects falling fully/partly in Kerala which have been taken up are as under:

|   S No. | Project                                    | Cost (₹ in Crores)   |
|---------|--------------------------------------------|----------------------|
|       1 | Tirunnavaya -Guruvayur new line (35 Km)    | 138                  |
|       2 | Angamali-Sabarimala new line (111 km)      | 3,801                |
|       3 | Ernakulam-Kumbalam doubling (8 km)         | 595                  |
|       4 | Kumbalam - Thuravur Patch doubling (16 km) | 803                  |
|       5 | Trivandrum- Kanyakumari doubling (87 km)   | 3,786                |
|       6 | Shoranur - Vallathol doubling (10 km)      | 367                  |
|       7 | Palakkad Town to Parli Bypass Line (2 Km)  | 164                  |
|       8 | Alappuzha-Ambalapuzha doubling (13 Km)     | 324                  |
|       9 | Turavur - Mararikulam doubling (21 Km)     | 451                  |

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                                | 65 ha (14%)  |
| Balance Land to be acquired                  | 411 ha (86%) |

Railway had deposited ₹1,975 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 |                                   392 |
|    2 | Ernakulam - Kumbalam Patch doubling (8 km) |                             4 |                       3 |                                     1 |
|    3 | Kumbalam - Turavur Patch doubling (16 km)  |                            10 |                       9 |                                     1 |
|    4 | Shoranur - Vallathol doubling (10 km)      |                             5 |                       0 |                                     5 |

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

Sanction  of  any  railway  project  depends  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

- -6-

## 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. *****