Lok Sabha Question No. 152 (STARRED), answered on 2025-12-10
Subject: Construction of Fourth Platform at Kannur Railway Station
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Shri K Sudhakaran

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS LOK SABHA

## STARRED QUESTION NO. 152 TO BE ANSWERED ON 10.12.2025

## CONSTRUCTION OF FOURTH PLATFORM AT KANNUR RAILWAY STATION

*152.  SHRI K SUDHAKARAN:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a)  whether  the  Government  has  examined  the  long-pending  demand  from railway users and public representatives for the construction of a fourth platform  at  Kannur  Railway  Station  to  expand  operational  capacity  and improve train handling efficiency;
- (b) if so, the present status of this proposal including feasibility studies/administrative approvals/estimates prepared by the Railways;
- (c) whether the Government proposes to include the construction of Platform No. 4 at Kannur Railway Station under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme, considering the importance of the station in the North Malabar region and if so, the details thereof;
- (d) whether the Government is willing to allocate funds for this construction in  the  upcoming  Union  Budget  and  if  so,  the  details  thereof  and  the timeline for completion of said project; and
- (e) the details of the authorities responsible for processing and implementing this long-pending infrastructure requirement?

## ANSWER

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

(SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW)

(a) to (e) A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.

*********

STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (e) OF LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 152 TO BE ANSWERED ON 10.12.2025

(a)  to  (e):    Kannur  Railway  station  is  situated  on  Mangaluru-Shoranur Double line section. Presently, Kannur Station is having 4 platforms, with 3 being of 26 coach length and 4th PF of 16 coach length. Kannur Station is presently  served  by  111  number  of  trains  (104  Mail/Express  and  7 Passenger  trains)  which  include  4  Vande  Bharat  and  2  Rajdhani  train services.

To augment the capacity of the section, a survey of Mangaluru-Shoranur 3rd  and  4th  line  (307km)  has  been  sanctioned  to  prepare  the  Detailed Project Report (DPR).

## 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 is as under:-

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

As on 01.04.2025, 06 projects (02 new line and 04 doubling) of length 266 Km, costing Rs. 9,415 crore, falling fully/partly in the State of Kerala are in different stages of planning/sanctioning/execution. The summary is as under:-

| Category                |   No. of projects | Total Length   | Length Commiss ioned   | Balance to complete   | Expenditure upto March 2025 (Rs.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                                       |

## 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               |
|     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 | Angamali-Sabarimala New line (111 Km)    | 3,727                |
|       2 | Ernakulam-Kumbalam Doubling (8 Km)       | 595                  |
|       3 | Kumbalam-Thuravur Patch doubling (16 km) | 803                  |
|       4 | Trivandrum- Kanyakumari Doubling (87 Km) | 3,786                |
|       5 | 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  9  Nos.  of  Surveys  (3  New  Line  and  6 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 |                       1 |                                     3 |
|    3 | Kumbalam - Turavur Patch Doubling (16 Km)  |                            10 |                       6 |                                     4 |
|    4 | Trivandrum - Kanyakumari Doubling (87 Km)  |                            41 |                      33 |                                     8 |
|    5 | 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.

Sanction  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.

Station Development of Kannur Station:

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  35  stations,  including  Kannur, Kasargod, Payyanur and Thalassery stations of North Malabar region, are located in Kerala. The names of stations identified for development under Amrit Bharat Station Scheme in the state of Kerala are as following:

| State   |   No. of | Name of Stations                                                                                                              |
|---------|----------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Kerala  |       35 | Alappuzha, Angadippuram, Angamali For Kaladi, Chalakudi, Changanassery, Chengannur, Chirayinkeezh, Ernakulam, Ernakulam Town, |

| State   | No. of   | Name of Stations                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   |
|---------|----------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|         |          | Ettumanur, Ferok, Guruvayur, Kannur, Kasargod, Kayankulam Jn, Kollam Jn, Kozhikode, Kuttippuram, Mavelikara, Neyyattinkara, Nilambur Road, Ottappalam, Parappanangadi, Payyanur, Punalur, Shoranur Jn., Thalassery, Thiruvananthapuram Central, Thrisur, Tirur, Tiruvalla, Tripunithura, Vadakara, Varkala Shivagiri, Wadakancheri |

Development  works  at  railway  stations  under  Amrit  Bharat  Station Scheme in Kerala have been taken up at a good pace. Till now, works of 05 stations (Chirayinkeezh, Vadakara, Kuttippuram, Shoranur Jn., Changanassery)  in  the  state  of  Kerala  have  been  completed  under  this scheme.  The  works  at  other  stations  have  also  been  taken  up  at  good pace and progress of some of above stations is as given below:

-  Kannur station: The works of new VIP lounge have been completed. The  works  of  improvement  of  AC  waiting  hall,  concourse,  ticket counter and second entry parking have been taken up.
-  Kasargod  station:  The  works  of  entrance  porch,  booking  window, platform  raising  and  platform  surfacing  of  platform  no.  1  and  2/3, platform  shelter,  improvement  of  station  building,  waiting  halls, toilets, circulating area, parking area, coach indication board, train indication  board,  reserved  lounge  and  water  booths  have  been completed.  The  works  of  seating  arrangement,  lifts,  escalator, retiring room, second entry parking and 6 m Foot Over Bridge have been taken up.
-  Payyanur station: The works of raising of platform no. 2/3, additional platform  shelter,  circulating  area  at  second  entry,  parking,  coach indication  board  and  train  indication  board  have  been  completed. The  works  of  improvement  of  station  building,  concourse,  waiting hall, platform shelter, circulating area at first entry, lift and 6 m Foot Over Bridge have been taken up.
-  Thalassery  station:  The  works  of  improvement  of  station  building, porch,  booking  office,  waiting  hall,  circulating  area,  and  parking have  been  completed.  The  works  of  improvement  of  platform shelter, porch at second entry, booking office, concourse, circulating area and lift have been taken up.
-  Wadakkanchery  station:  The  works  of improvement  of  station building,  platform  shelter,  platform  surface,  waiting  hall,  toilet, circulating area and new portico have been completed. The finishing works have been taken up.
-  Chalakudi  station:  The  works  of  improvement  of  station  building, platform  shelter,  platform  surface,  waiting  hall,  toilet,  circulating area  and  parking  area  have  been  completed.  The  finishing  works 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 interse  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.

Development / Upgradation / Modernisation of stations including under Amrit Bharat Station Scheme is generally funded under Plan Head-53 'Customer Amenities'. The details of allocation of funds for development  and  maintenance  of  stations  are  maintained  Zonal Railway-wise and not Work-wise or Station-wise. Passenger amenities are  generally  funded  under  Plan  Head-53  'Customer  Amenities'.  The state of Kerala is covered under the jurisdiction of Southern Railway and for this zone, an allocation of ₹ 1,122 crore has been made for the financial  year  2025-26,  out  of  which  an  expenditure  (up  to  October, 2025) of ₹ 686 crore has been incurred so far.

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