Lok Sabha Question No. 1637 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-12-10
Subject: Mission Raftaar
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Shri C N Annadurai, Shri Navaskani K, Shri Selvam G

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1637 TO BE ANSWERED ON 10.12.2025

## MISSION RAFTAAR

1637.  SHRI C N ANNADURAI: SHRI NAVASKANI K:

SHRI SELVAM G:

- Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state: (a) whether the Government is aware that under Mission Raftaar, the average speed of  freight  and  mail/express  trains  has  increased  significantly  due  to continuous infrastructure upgradation during the last decade, and if so, the details thereof; (b)  the  details  of  the  railway  sections  in  Tamil  Nadu  where  the  speed
- potential has been enhanced to 110 kmph and 130 kmph;
- (c)  the  current  status  of  ongoing  railway  projects  in  Tamil  Nadu,  including new lines, gauge conversion, and doubling/multi-tracking works, along with the total expenditure incurred and the progress achieved so far;
- (d) whether the Government has proposed any specific measures to further increase  train  speeds  and  modernize  railway  infrastructure  in  Tamil  Nadu since 2025-26 and if so, the details thereof; and
- (e)  the  steps  taken  by  the  Government  for  timely  execution  of  sanctioned projects  under  Mission  Raftaar  and  related  infrastructure  programmes  in Tamil Nadu?

## ANSWER

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

## (SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW)

(a)  to  (e):  Speeding  up  of  trains  is  a  constant  endeavor  and  a  continuous process  which  is  dependent  upon  upgradation  of  tracks,  signaling  system, OHE, high powered locos, modern coaches, etc.

The  medium-term  and  long-term  plans  to  achieve  the  Mission  include infrastructure improvement  i.e. construction of 3 rd  line/4 th  line, providing bypasses,  rail  flyovers,  right-powering  of  trains,  replacement  of  conventional loco  hauled  trains  by  MEMUs,  upgrading  of  signaling  system,  2x25  KV traction system, etc.

Upgradation  and  improvement  of  railway  tracks  on  Indian  Railways  to increase the speed potential have been carried out in a big way since 2014. The measures for track upgradation include use of 60 kg rails, wider base concrete sleepers, thick web switches, longer rail panels, H Beam sleepers, modern track renewal and maintenance machines, etc.

As a result of the above measures, there has been a significant increase in the  speed  potential  of  the  rail  network.  The  details  of  speed  potential  of entire railway network over Indian Railways during 2025 vis-à-vis 2014 are as under:

| Sectional Speed   | 2014     | 2014   | 2025     | 2025   |
|-------------------|----------|--------|----------|--------|
| (kmph)            | Track Km | %      | Track Km | %      |
| 130 & above       | 5,036    | 6.3    | 23,010   | 21.8   |

| 110-130   | 26,409   |   33.3 | 60,276   |   57.5 |
|-----------|----------|--------|----------|--------|
| < 110     | 47,897   |   60.4 | 21,936   |   20.8 |
| Total     | 79,342   |  100   | 1,05,672 |  100   |

## Sections having speed potential of 130 kmph in Tamil Nadu are  as under:

-  Chennai - Arambakkam (Chennai - Gudur route)
-  Chennal - Arakkonam - Katpadi - Jolarpettai
-  Arakkonam - Ponpadi (Arakkonam - Renigunta route)
-  Jolarpettai - Patchur (Jolarpettai - Bengaluru)

## Tamil Nadu

Budget  allocation  in  the  recent  years  has  increased  significantly.  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  | ₹6626 crore/year (more than 7.5 times) |

To improve the connectivity in Tamil Nadu, as on 01.04.2025, 15 projects (09 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. The summary of the same is as under:-

| Category   |   No. of Projects |   Total Length (in Km) |   Length Commissioned Upto March 2025 (in Km) | Expenditure upto March 2025 (₹ in Cr.)   |
|------------|-------------------|------------------------|-----------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------|
| New Line   |                09 |                    812 |                                            24 | 1,337                                    |

| Gauge Conversion        |   03 | 748   |   604 | 3471   |
|-------------------------|------|-------|-------|--------|
| Doubling/Multi tracking |   03 | 140   |    37 | 2783   |
| Total                   |   15 | 1,700 |   665 | 7,591  |

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

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

|   S.N. | Project                                                       |   Cost (₹ in Cr.) |
|--------|---------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------|
|      1 | Dindigal-Palani-Pollachi Gauge Conversion (121 Km)            |               610 |
|      2 | Pollachi-Palghat Gauge Conversion (56 Km)                     |               350 |
|      3 | Pollachi-Podhanur Gauge Conversion (40 Km)                    |               400 |
|      4 | Quilon-Tirunelveli-Tiruchendur Gauge Conversion (357 Km)      |              1122 |
|      5 | Mayiladuturai-Thiruvarur-Karaikkudi Gauge Conversion (187 Km) |              1338 |
|      6 | Madurai-Bodiyakannur Gauge Conversion (90 Km)                 |               593 |
|      7 | Chengalpattu-Villupuram Doubling (102 Km)                     |               670 |
|      8 | Tiruvallur-Arakkonam 4th line (27 Km)                         |                83 |
|      9 | Chennai Central-Basin Bridge Doubling (2 Km)                  |                31 |
|     10 | Thanjavur-Ponmalai Doubling (48 Km)                           |               370 |
|     11 | Villupuram-Dindigul Doubling (273 Km)                         |              2000 |
|     12 | Chennai Beach-Korukkupet 3rd line (5 Km)                      |               168 |

|   13 | Chennai Beach-Attipattu 4th line (22 Km)                             |   293 |
|------|----------------------------------------------------------------------|-------|
|   14 | Omalur-Metturdam Patch Doubling (29 Km)                              |   327 |
|   15 | Chengalpattu-Villupuram and Tambaram- Chengalpattu-3rd line (133 Km) |  1122 |
|   16 | Salem-Magnesite Junction-Omalur Doubling (11Km)                      |   115 |
|   17 | Madurai- Maniyachi-Tuticorin Doubling (160 Km)                       |  1891 |
|   18 | Maniyachi-Nagercoil Doubling (102 Km)                                |  1752 |
|   19 | Chennai Beach-Chennai Egmore Doubling. (4 Km)                        |   272 |
|   20 | Karaikal-Peralam new line (23 Km)                                    |   373 |
|   21 | Northern End Port connectivity to Karaikal Port (1Km)                |    18 |

Some of the projects falling fully/partly in the State of Tamil Nadu which have been taken up are as under:

|   S.N. | Project                                      |   Cost (₹ in Cr.) |
|--------|----------------------------------------------|-------------------|
|      1 | Tindivanam-Nagari new line (184 Km)          |              3631 |
|      2 | Morappur-Dharmapuri new line (36 Km)         |               359 |
|      3 | Nagapattinam-Tiruturaipundi new line (43 Km) |               742 |
|      4 | Trivandrum-Kanyakumari Doubling (87 Km)      |              3785 |
|      5 | Arakkonam yard 3rd & 4th line (6 Km)         |                98 |

During  the  last  three  years  i.e.  2022-23,  2023-24,  2024-25  and  the  current financial year 2025-26, 28 surveys (05 New Line and 23 Doubling) covering a total length of 2,493 Km has been sanctioned falling fully/partly in the State of Tamil Nadu.

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   | 4,326 Ha      |
|--------------------------------------------------|---------------|
| Land Acquired                                    | 1052 Ha (24%) |
| Balance Land to be acquired                      | 3274 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.N. | 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) |                           276 |                      33 |                                   243 |
|      2 | Attiputtu-Puttur New Line (88 km)          |                           189 |                       0 |                                   189 |
|      3 | Morappur-Dharmapuri New Line(36 km)        |                            92 |                      45 |                                    47 |
|      4 | Mannargudi-Pattukottai New line (41Kkm)    |                           196 |                       0 |                                   196 |
|      5 | Thanjavur-Pattukottai New line(52 km)      |                           152 |                       0 |                                   152 |

Further, Rameshwaram - Dhanushkodi New Line (18 Km) was sanctioned at a cost of Rs.734  Cr.  The  foundation  stone  of  the  project  was  laid  on 01.03.2019.  However,  the  project  could  not  be  started  because  the  land acquisition has not been undertaken by the State Govt. of Tamil Nadu.

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

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 projects 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 projects.

## Station Redevelopment

Ministry of Railways has launched Amrit Bharat Station Scheme  for redevelopment of stations with a long-term approach.

The scheme involves preparation of master plans and their implementation in phases to improve the stations. The master planning includes:

-  Improvement of access to station and circulating areas
-  Integration of station with both sides of city
-  Improvement of station building
-  Improvement of waiting halls, toilets, sitting arrangement, water booths
-  Provision  of  wider  foot  over  bridge/air  concourse  commensurate  with passenger traffic
-  Provision of lift/escalators/ramp
-  Improvement /Provision of platform surface and cover over platforms
-  Provision of kiosks for  local  products  through  schemes  like  'One  Station One Product'
-  Parking areas, Multimodal integration
-  Amenities for Divyangjans
-  Better passenger information systems
-  Provision of executive lounges, nominated spaces for business meetings, landscaping, etc. keeping in view the necessity at each station.

The scheme also envisages 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  for  development  under  Amrit Bharat Station Scheme, out of which 77 stations are located in the state of

Tamil  Nadu.  The  names  of  stations  identified  for  development  under  Amrit Bharat Station Scheme in the state of Tamil Nadu are as following:

| State      |   No. of Stations | Name of Stations                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       |
|------------|-------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Tamil Nadu |                77 | Ambasamudram, Ambattur, Arakkonam Jn, Ariyalur, Avadi, Bommidi, Chengalpattu Jn, Chennai Beach, Chennai Egmore, Chennai Park, Chidambaram, Chinna Salem, Chrompet, Coimbatore Jn, Coimbatore North, Coonoor, Dharmapuri, Dindigul, Erode Jn., Guduvancheri, Guindy, Gummidipundi, Hosur, Jolarpettai Jn, Kanniyakumari Terminus, Karaikkudi Jn, Karur Jn, Katpadi Jn, Kovilpatti, Kulitturai, Kumbakonam, Lalgudi, Madurai Jn, Mambalam, Manaparai, Mannargudi, Mayiladuturai Jn, Mettupalayam, Morappur, Nagercoil Jn, Namakkal, Palani, Paramakkudi, Perambur, Podanur Jn., Pollachi Jn, Polur, Pudukkottai, Puratchi Thalaivar Dr. M.G. Ramachandran Central, Rajapalayam, Ramanathapuram, Rameswaram, Salem, Samalpatti, Sholavandan, Srirangam, Srivilliputtur, St.Thomas Mount, Tambaram, Tenkasi, Thanjavur Jn, Thiruvarur Jn., Tiruchendur, Tirunelveli Jn, Tirupadripulyur, Tirupattur, Tiruppur, Tirusulam, Tiruttani, Tiruvallur, Tiruvannamalai, Tuticorin, Udagamandalam, Vellore Cantt., Villupuram Jn., Virudhunagar, Vriddhachalam Jn. |

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, works  of  17  stations  (Bommidi,  Chidambaram,  Karaikkudi  Jn.,  Kulitturai,

Manaparai, Mannargudi, Morappur, Pollachi Jn., Polur, Samalpatti, Sholavandan,  Srirangam,  Srivilliputtur,  St.Thomas  Mount,  Thiruvarur  Jn., Tiruvannamalai,  Vriddhachalam  Jn.)  in  the  state  of  Tamil  Nadu  have  been completed  under  this  scheme.  Further,  works  have  been  taken  up  at 56stations and 4 stations are under master planning. The works have been taken up at good pace and progress of some of the above stations is as given below:

-  Tirupadripulyur station: The works of parking area and signages have been completed. The works of entrance arch, portico, improvement to waiting hall,  platform  surface,  platform  shelter,  toilet,  train  indication  board, approach road and parking area have been taken up.
-  Vellore  Cantt.  station:  The  works  for  improvement  of  circulating  area, booking  office,  new  platform  shelter,  improvement  to  terminal  building, platform  surfacing,  waiting  hall,  toilet,  new  compound  wall,  signages, coach  indication  board,  standard  ramp,  Divyangjan  parking,  low  height ticket booth, Divyangjan friendly toilets, tactile pathway, accessible path, improvement of landscape and station illumination have been completed. The finishing works have been taken up.
-  Ariyalur  station:  The  works  for  improvement  of  terminal  building  with porch, concourse, booking office, waiting lobby, improvement to circulating  area,  platform  surfacing,  improvement  to  waiting  hall,  new toilet,  standard  ramp,  coach  indication  boards,  Divyangjan  parking,  low height ticket booth, Divyangjan friendly toilets, tactile pathway, accessible path,  lighting,  improvement  of  existing  Foot  Over  Bridge,  new  platform
- shelter  and  coach  indication  boards  have  been  completed.  The  work  for construction of new 6 mFoot Over Bridge has been taken up.

⁠

-  Rameswaram station:The structural works of East/North terminal building, departure forecourt, arrival forecourt, residential tower, sub-station building, desalination plant and sewage  treatment  plant have  been completed. The masonry works of East terminal building, finishing works of North terminal building, departure forecourt, arrival forecourt, residential  tower,  platform  upgradation  including  platform  shelter  and revamping of existing waiting hall have been taken up.

Further,  development  /  redevelopment  /  upgradation  /  modernisation  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  /  redevelopment  / upgradation  /  modernisation  of  stations  is  accorded  to  higher  category  of station over lower category of station while sanctioning and executing the works.

Master planning is an iterative process requiring optimization and the time frame  and  other  details  for  such  optimization  cannot  be  indicated  at  this stage.

Further,  development  /  upgradation  /  modernisation  of  stations  including Amrit  Bharat  Station  Scheme  is  generally  funded  under  Plan  Head-53 'Customer Amenities'. The details of allocation and expenditure under Plan Head-53  are  maintained  Zonal  Railway-wise  and  not  work-wise  or  stationwise or state-wise. The state of Tamil Nadu is covered under the jurisdiction of  two  railway  zones,  namely,SouthernRailway  andSouth  Western  Railway.

For the last four years and the current year, ₹ 5,449 crore has been allocated while an expenditure of ₹ 4,439 crore has been incurred during the last four years and current year (up to October, 2025). Development / 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, airport 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.

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