Lok Sabha Question No. 6034 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-04-01
Subject: Redevelopment of Tirunelveli Junction Railway Station
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Shri Robert Bruce C

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 6034 TO BE ANSWERED ON 01.04.2026

## REDEVELOPMENT OF TIRUNELVELI JUNCTION RAILWAY STATION

## 6034. SHRI ROBERT BRUCE C:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government is aware of the fact that the redevelopment of Tirunelveli  Junction  Railway  Station  was  announced  originally  at  an outlay of Rs. 270 crores which was reduced to Rs. 99 crores which was
- further curtailed to Rs. 77 Crore and if so, the details thereof;
- (b)  the  details  of  the  reasons  of  such  lopsided  and  reduced  allocation  of funds; and
- (c) the details of such other railway stations for which the final expenditure was  less  than  the  originally  announced  outlay  and  if  so,  the  details thereof?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, INFORMATION & BROADCASTING AND

## ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW)

- (a)  to  (c):    Tirunelveli  Junction  railway  station  has  been  identified  for redevelopment under Amrit Bharat Station Scheme.

At  Tirunelveli  Railway  station,  the  works  for  improvement  of  platform surface, concourse area flooring, construction of platform shelters, provision  of  pay  &  use  toilets,  quick  watering  system  for  coaches  at platform, provision of recycling plant, station building lighting and provision of  water  cubicles  have  been  completed  in  recent  years.  The  works  for construction of new platform no. 6 has been taken up.

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The redevelopment work of Tirunelveli junction railway station has been sanctioned under Amrit Bharat Station scheme. The redevelopment work of Tirunelveli station envisage east and west terminal buildings, spacious foot over bridge, up-gradation of platforms, parcel office, RMS office, circulating area and surface parking etc.

The  works  of  soil  investigation  and  construction  of  site  office  have been taken up.

The Amrit Bharat Station scheme envisages development of stations on a continuous  basis  with  a  long-term  approach.  The  scheme  involves preparation  of  master  plans  and  their  implementation  in  phases  to improve  the  stations.  The  master  planning,  keeping  in  view  the necessity at each station 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.

The  scheme  also  envisages  improvement  of  building,  integrating  the station  with  both  sides  of  the  city,  multimodal  integration,  amenities  for Divyangjans,  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.

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. Development / redevelopment / upgradation / modernisation of a station is carried out based on category of station/condition/traffic handled etc.

So far, 1,338 stations have been identified for development under the Amrit Bharat  Station  Scheme.  Out  of  these,  77  stations  are  located  in  Tamil Nadu.  The  name  of  stations  identified  under  Amrit  Bharat  Station Scheme in Tamil Nadu is as following:

| State      |   No. of Stations | Name of Stations                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    |
|------------|-------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Tamil Nadu |                77 | Ambasamudram, Ambattur, ArakkonamJn, 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, JolarpettaiJn, Kanniyakumari Terminus, KaraikkudiJn, KarurJn, KatpadiJn, Kovilpatti, Kulitturai, Kumbakonam, Lalgudi, Madurai Jn, Mambalam, |

| State   | No. of Stations   | Name of Stations                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              |
|---------|-------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|         |                   | Manaparai, Mannargudi, MayiladuturaiJn, 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. |

## Completed stations:

Development  works  at  railway  stations  under  Amrit  Bharat  Station Scheme  in  Tamil  Nadu  have  been  taken  up  at  a  good  pace.  Till  now, works  of  23  stations  (Bommidi,  Chennai  Park,  Chidambaram,  Chinna Salem, Coonoor, Karaikkudi Jn, Kulitturai, Mambalam, Manaparai, Mannargudi, Morappur, Namakkal, Pollachi Jn, Polur, Samalpatti, Sholavandan,  Srirangam,  Srivilliputtur,  St.Thomas  Mount,  Thiruvarur  Jn., Tiruvannamalai, Udagamandalam, Vriddhachalam Jn.) in Tamil Nadu have been completed under this scheme.

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.
-  Karur Junction station:  The  works  of  improvement  of  station  building, main entrance arch, AC waiting hall, toilet at platform no. 1, 2/3 & 4/5, circulating  area  and  parking  have  been  completed.  The  works  of  lift, escalator and 12 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 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 including under Amrit Bharat Station Scheme is generally funded under Plan Head-53 'Customer Amenities'. The details of allocation under Plan Head-53 are maintained Zonal Railway-wise and  not  station-wise  or  State-wise.  Tirunelveli  railway  station  falls  under the   jurisdiction  of Southern  Railway   for   which a total   allocation of Rs. 1125.48 crores (Revised Estimate) has been made for the financial year 2025-26 under Plan Head-53.

Further,  development/redevelopment/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 brown field related  challenges  such  as  shifting  of  utilities,  (involving  water/sewage lines, optical fiber 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  high voltage power lines etc. and these factors affect the completion time.

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