Lok Sabha Question No. 1967 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-02-11
Subject: Pending Railway Line Doubling Works between Kayamkulam and Ernakulam in Kerala
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Shri Kodikunnil Suresh

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## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1967

## TO BE ANSWERED ON 11.02.2026

## PENDING RAILWAY LINE DOUBLING WORKS BETWEEN KAYAMKULAM AND ERNAKULAM IN KERALA

## 1967. SHRI KODIKUNNIL SURESH:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a) the present status of the pending railway line doubling works between Kayamkulam and Ernakulam, section-wise and project-wise;
- (b) the reasons for the prolonged delay in completion of the said doubling works  particularly  in  land  acquisition,  fund  allocation  and  execution issues;
- (c) the details of the total funds sanctioned, released and utilised for the project so far; and
- (d) the details of the timeline fixed by the Government for completion of the remaining works and the steps taken to expedite the project in view of heavy passenger density and operational constraints on this crucial rail corridor in Kerala?

## ANSWER

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

(SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW)

(a) to (d): Ernakulam and Kayamkulam are connected through two routes, first via Kottayam and second via Ambalapuzha.

The  first  route  via  Kottayam  is  already  a  double-line  section.  While  the second route via Ambalapuzha is partly double line and partly single line at present. The status of doubling of Ernakulam to Kayamkulam  via Ambalapuzha is tabulated below:

|   S. N | Section                                 | Status                                           |
|--------|-----------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------|
|      1 | Ernakulam - Kumbalam - Thuravur (23 Km) | Doubling Sanctioned. Works taken up              |
|      2 | Thuravur - Mararikulam (21 Km)          | DPR prepared                                     |
|      3 | Mararikulam - Alappuzha (12 Km)         | Field Survey completed. DPR preparation taken up |
|      4 | Alappuzha- Ambalapuzha (13 Km)          | DPR prepared                                     |
|      5 | Ambalapuzha-Kayamkulam (31 Km)          | Already double line                              |

After preparation 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.

## 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 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 ₹9,415crore 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  other  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     | 803     |
|   5 | Trivandrum- Kanyakumari doubling (87 km) | 3,786   |
|   6 | Shoranur - Vallathol doubling (10 km)    | 367     |

In last three years (i.e. 2022-2023, 2023-2024, 2024-25 and current financial year i.e. 2025-26), total 09 Nos. of Surveys (03 new line and 06 doubling) falling fully/partly in the State of Kerala having a total length of 1,124 km have been sanctioned and survey work has been taken up.

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  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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