Lok Sabha Question No. 5988 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-04-01
Subject: SilverLine Project in Kerala
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Adv. Adoor Prakash

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 5988

## TO BE ANSWERED ON 01.04.2026

## SILVERLINE PROJECT IN KERALA

## 5988. ADV. ADOOR PRAKASH:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government is considering a new high speed rail corridor in Kerala as an alternative to the SilverLine project proposed by the State and if so, the details thereof;
- (b)  whether  the  Government  has  received  any  communication  from  the State  Government  regarding  withdrawal  from  the  proposed  SilverLine project and if so, the details thereof; and
- (c)  whether the Government has received any proposal from the State of Kerala  for  Regional  Rapid  Transport  System  (RRTS)  project  and  if  so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, INFORMATION & BROADCASTING AND

## ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW)

(a)  to  (c):    To  strengthen  the  railway  network  in  Keralam,  the  following surveys have been sanctioned :

| SN   | Route                                 | Length (Km)   |
|------|---------------------------------------|---------------|
| 1    | Shoranur-Mangalore 3rd & 4th Line     | 307           |
| 2    | Coimbatore-Shoranur 3rd & 4th line    | 99            |
| 3    | Shoranur - Ernakulam 3rd Line         | 106           |
| 4    | Ernakulam-Kayankulam 3rd line (via    | 115           |
|      | Kottayam)                             |               |
| 5    | Kayankulam-Thiruvanathapuram 3rd Line | 105           |
| 6    | Thiruvanathapuram-Nagercoil 3rd Line  | 71            |
| 7    | Mararikulam - Alappuzha Doubling      | 13            |

§

After  firming  up  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.

SilverLine from Thiruvananthapuram to Kasaragod in Keralam was proposed for construction by Kerala Rail Development Corporation Limited (KRDCL), a Joint Venture company of State Government of Keralam (51%) and Ministry of Railways (49%) for development.  After survey, KRDCL has submitted Detailed Project Report (DPR) of the Project to the Ministry of Railways for approval.  The proposed alignment was running parallel to and in close proximity to Indian Railway  (IR) lines.    There  were  many deficiencies in the DPR.  Therefore, KRDCL has been advised by Southern Railway to address those deficiencies and prepare revised DPR.

Further, Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs (MoHUA) being nodal Ministry for  RRTS  has  informed  that  no  Detailed  Project  Report  (DPR)  of  RRTS connectivity  has  been  submitted  to  Central  Government  by  the  State Government of Keralam.

## Keralam

## Railway Budget:

Budget allocation in  the  recent  years  has  increased  significantly.  Budget allocation for infrastructure  projectsand  safetyworks,  falling  fully/partly inthe  Stateof  Keralam is as under:-

| Period   | Outlay                           |
|----------|----------------------------------|
| 2009-14  | ₹ 372 crore/year                 |
| 2025-26  | ₹3,042 crore (more than 8 times) |

## Projects sanctioned:

As  on  01.04.2025,  06  projects  (02  new  line  and  04  doubling)  of  266  km length,  costing  ₹9,415crore  falling  fully/partly  in  Keralam  are  sanctioned. The summary is as under:-

| Category                 |   No. of projects | Total Length   | Length Commission ed   | Balanc e to comple te   | 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.

Recently Completed Projects:

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

|   S. No. | 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 |

## Ongoing Projects:

Some of the projects falling fully/partly in Keralam 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-Kumbalamdoubling (8 km)        | 595                  |
|        4 | Kumbalam-Thuravur Patch doubling (16 km) | 803                  |
|        5 | Trivandrum- Kanyakumari doubling (87 km) | 3,786                |
|        6 | Shoranur - Vallathol doubling (10 km)    | 367                  |
|        7 | Palakkad Town - Parli bypass line (2 Km) | 164                  |
|        8 | Alappuzha- Ambalapuzha doubling (13 Km)  | 324                  |
|        9 | Turavur - Mararikulam doubling (21 km)   | 451                  |

Execution  of  important  infrastructure  projects  falling  fully/partly  in  the State of Keralam are held up due to delay in land acquisition. Status of land acquisition in the State of Keralam is as under:

| Total Land required for Projects in Keralam   | 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 Keralam.  Support of the Government of Keralam is needed to expedite the land  acquisition.  For  instance,  details  of  some  major  projects  which  are delayed due to land acquisition are as under:-

|   S. No. | 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 Keralam.

Sanctioning of any railway project depends 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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