Lok Sabha Question No. 1989 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-02-11
Subject: Extension of Angamali - Sabarimala Railway Line
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Adv. Adoor Prakash, Shri Anto Antony, Shri Kodikunnil Suresh

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## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1989

## LOK SABHA TO BE ANSWERED ON 11.02.2026

## EXTENSION OF ANGAMALI - SABARIMALA RAILWAY LINE

1989. ADV. ADOOR PRAKASH:

SHRI KODIKUNNIL SURESH:

SHRI ANTO ANTONY:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a)  the  present  status  of  the  Sabarai  railway  project  between  Angamaly and Erumeli and the progress made so far including land acquisition and fund allocation;
- (b)  whether  the  Government  has  proposed  for  extension  of  AngamaliSabarimala railway line from Erumeli to Vizhinjam International Seaport and further South to Thiruvananthapuram via Ranni and Pathanapuram and  if  so,  the  details  thereof  including  action  taken/response  of  the Government thereon;
- (c) whether the Government of Kerala has submitted any such proposal, if so, the details thereof;
- (d) whether any feasibility study, survey or cost-benefit analysis has been conducted for the proposed extension and if so, the outcome of such studies;
- (e)  whether  the  Railways  plans  for  extension  of  Sabari  railway  line  for providing  rail  connectivity  to  towns  above  50000  population  including Nedumangad as proposed under PM Gati Shakti Scheme and if so, the details thereof; and
- (f) the steps taken/proposed to be taken by the Government to provide rail connectivity  to  the  interior  districts  of  Kerala  through  this  extension and the timeline envisaged, if approved?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, INFORMATION & BROADCASTING AND

ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW)

(a)  to  (f):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 local 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.

The  survey  from  Erumeli  toThiruvananthapuram  new  line  (145  km)  via Pathanamthitta & Punalur was carried out, however, the Project could not be taken forward due to low traffic projections.

Further, to provide rail connectivity to Vizhinjam International Seaport, new line  from  Balaramapuram - Vizhinjam Port (11  km) has been taken up by Vizhinjam  International  Seaport  limited,  an  SPV  of  Govt  of  Kerala  under Non-Government  Railway  model.Balaramapuram  is  existing  station  on Thiruvananthapuram- Nagercoil section.

The  rail  connectivity  to  Nedumangad  is  served  by  Thiruvananthapuram Central Railway Station which is nearly 18 km away.

Sanctioning  of  a  railway  project  for  extension/augmentation  of  railway network including connectivity to unconnected towns and cities depends upon parameters/factors such as:

-  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

## 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                |

...5/-

|   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     | 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.

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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