Lok Sabha Question No. 4156 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-03-18
Subject: Passenger facilities at Karur Railway Station in Tamil Nadu
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Shri Matheswaran V S

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## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4156

## TO BE ANSWERED ON 18.03.2026

## PASSENGER FACILITIES AT KARUR RAILWAY STATION IN TAMIL NADU

## 4156. SHRI MATHESWARAN V S:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a)  the  details  of  timeline  to  complete  the  construction  of  lift  at  Karur railway station in Tamil Nadu;
- (b)  the  names  of  railway  officials  along  with  designation  who  have  been given complimentary travel in Palace on Wheels and Maharaja Express from 2012 to till date; and
- (c)  the  rationale  of  allowing  railway  officials  who  are  on  official  duty  to take their spouse on complimentary travel in luxury trains at the cost of public money?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, INFORMATION & BROADCASTING AND

## ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW)

(a) to (c): Ministry of Railways has launched Amrit Bharat Station Scheme for  redevelopment  of  stations  with  a  long-term  approach.  Karur  Junction station,  located  in  Tamil  Nadu  has  been  identified  for  development  under Amrit Bharat Station Scheme. Facilities like high level platforms, platform shelter,  waiting  hall,  drinking  water  arrangement, urinal,  lavatory,  seating arrangement and Foot Over Bridge etc. are available. In addition to this, 03 lifts are available at Platform No. 1, 2/3 and 4/5 of Karur Junction station.

Development works at Karur Junction station  under Amrit Bharat Station Scheme have been taken up at good pace. The works of improvement of station  building,  main  entrance  arch,  platform  widening  and  surfacing  of platform no. 1, platform shelter at platform no. 2/3 & 4/5, AC waiting hall,

general waiting hall, toilet at platform no. 1, 2/3 & 4/5, circulating area and parking have been completed. The works of platform surfacing at platform no.  2/3  and  4/5,  water  booth,  seating  arrangement,  lift,  escalator  and 12meter Foot Over Bridge have been taken up.

Further,  Railway  officials  are  entitled  to  travel  in  Indian  Railways  trains with their families in accordance with Railway Servants (Pass) Rules, 1986 only.

## Amrit Bharat Station scheme in Tamil Nadu:

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, 1,338 stations have been identified for development under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme. Out of these, 77 stations including Karur Junction station,  are  located  in  Tamil  Nadu.  The  name  of  stations  identified  under Amrit Bharat Station Scheme in 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 ThalaivarDr. 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

Contd.4/..

in  Tamil  Nadu  have  been  taken  up  at  a  good  pace.  Till  now,  works  of  20 stations  have  been  completed.  The  name  of  stations  completed  in  Tamil Nadu are as following:

| State      |   No. of stations | Name of stations                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    |
|------------|-------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Tamil Nadu |                20 | Bommidi, Chennai Park, Chidambaram, Chinna Salem, Karaikkudi Jn, Kulitturai, Mambalam, Manaparai, Mannargudi, Morappur, Pollachi Jn, Polur, Samalpatti, Sholavandan, Srirangam, Srivilliputtur, St. Thomas Mount, Thiruvarur Jn., Tiruvannamalai, Vriddhachalam Jn. |

The activities for development at other stations have also been taken up at good pace and progress of some of the above stations is as given below:

-  Palani station: The works of improvement  of station building, platform shelter, waiting hall, toilet, circulating area, parking, entry/exit arch, lift at existing Foot Over Bridge, coach indication board and train indication board have been completed. The works of Divyangjan facilities and 6 m Foot Over Bridge have been taken up.
-  Virudhunagar Junction station: The works of circulating area, parking, entry/exit  arch,  Divyangjan  facilities,  coach  indication  board  and  train indication  board  have  been  completed.  The  works  of  improvement  of station building and 6 m Foot Over Bridge have been taken up.
-  Thanjavur  Junction  station:  The  works  of  portico,  improvement  of concourse, platform shelter, improvement of booking office, circulating area,  exit  arch  and  signages  have  been  completed.  The  works  of parking, lift, escalator, coach indication board and train indication board have been taken up.
- 
- Villupuram Junction station: The works of new arrival building, platform Contd.5/..

shelter,  improvement  of  platform  surface,  booking  counter,  parcel office, improvement of parking and signages have been completed. The works of improvement of concourse, circulating area, parking, entrance arch, coach indication board, train indication board, escalator and 6 m Foot Over Bridge have been taken up.

Development / Upgradation of 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.

Development  /  Upgradation  /  Modernization  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  station-wise  or state-wise.  Tamil  Nadu  is  covered  under  the  jurisdiction  of  two  railway zones,  namely,  Southern  Railway  and  South  Western  Railway.  For  these zones, an allocation of ₹ 1,697 crore has been made for the financial year 2025-26,  out  of  which  an  expenditure  of  ₹  1,626  crore  (up  to  February, 2026) has been incurred so far.

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