Lok Sabha Question No. 533 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-12-03
Subject: Status of Road Over Bridges (ROBs) Projects in Kerala
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Shri Kodikunnil Suresh

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.533 TO BE ANSWERED ON 03.12.2025

## STATUS OF ROAD OVER BRIDGES (ROBS) PROJECTS IN KERALA

## 533. SHRI KODIKUNNIL SURESH:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a) the  details  of  all  Road  Over  Bridge  (ROB)  construction  projects sanctioned  and  ongoing  in  the  State  of  Kerala  including  their location, division and implementing agency;
- (b) the funding pattern adopted for each project indicating whether it is 100  per  cent  funded  by  the  Railways  or  implemented  on  a  costsharing basis with the State Government or other agencies;
- (c) the status and stage of progress of each ROB project falling under Thiruvananthapuram, Madurai and Palakkad Divisions;
- (d) the target dates of completion and reasons for delay, if any; and
- (e) whether  the  Government  has  any  plan  to  expedite  pending  ROB projects in Kerala to ensure public safety and traffic decongestion and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, INFORMATION & BROADCASTING AND

## ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW)

- (a)  to  (e)  :    Sanctioning  and  execution  of  works  of  Road  Over  Bridges/ Road Under Bridges (ROBs/RUBs) 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.

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

| Period   | ROBs/ RUBs constructed                          |
|----------|-------------------------------------------------|
| 2004-14  | 4,148 Nos.                                      |
| 2014-25  | 13,653 Nos. (including 120 Nos. in the State of |
| (Oct'25) | Kerala)                                         |

During  current  financial  year  2025-26  (up  to  Oct'25),  02  Nos.  of ROBs/RUBs have been constructed in the State of Kerala.

As  on  01.11.2025,  127  Road  Over  Bridges  (ROBs)  across  railways tracks have been sanctioned in  Thiruvananthapuram,  Madurai  and Palakkad Divisions in  the State of Kerala which are at various stages of planning and execution.  Out of these works, 106 works are sanctioned on cost sharing basis and 21 Nos. works are on 100% Railways cost.

105  Nos.  ROBs  are  delayed  on  account  of  the  State  Govt.  The details are as under:

|   S.No. | Reason                                       |   ROBs (in No.) |
|---------|----------------------------------------------|-----------------|
|       1 | Delay in Land Acquisition by State Govt.     |              37 |
|       2 | Finalization of Alignment by State Govt.     |              63 |
|       3 | Law & order/ Public Protest/Court cases etc. |               2 |
|       4 | Agency yet to be fixed                       |               3 |

Completion & commissioning of ROB/RUB works depends on various factors  like  cooperation  of   State  Governments  in  giving   consent  for closure of LC, fixing of approach  alignment,  approval of General Arrangement Drawing (GAD), land acquisition, removal of encroachment, 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. Railways have taken following measures to expedite the progress of ROB/RUB works: (i)   Joint  survey  with  concerned  State  Govt./Road  Owning  Authority  is done  before  finalizing  the  General  Arrangement  Drawing   (GAD)  to ensure smooth execution. (ii)  Periodic meetings of Railway & State Government officials are done to resolve various issues related to ROB/RUB works. (iii) Standardization of superstructure drawings for various combinations of  span,  skewness  and  width  of  road  on  Railway  portion  has  been done to avoid delays during the design approval. This has been issued in  the  form  of  compendium, which can be directly adopted for Road Over Bridge across Railway lines for expeditious planning. (iv) ROB/RUB works are planned to be executed on a single entity basis by Railway wherever possible. In case any Road Owning authority/State Govt. wants, then Railway may permit them to execute the work on a single entity basis.

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