Parliament Question: Status of ROBs and RUBs in Kerala

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4046 TO BE ANSWERED ON 12.08.2026 STATUS OF ROBS AND RUBS IN KERALA 4046. SHRI KODIKUNNIL SURESH: Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state: (a) the details of Railway Over Bridges (ROBs) and Railway Under Bridges (RUBs) sanctioned, approved and under construction in Kerala, indicating the estimated cost, cost- sharing pattern and implementing agency, district-wise; (b) the details of funds allocated, released and utilised for each ROB and RUB project during the last five years and the current year, year-wise; (c) the present status of each project, indicating works completed, works under execution, projects yet to commence and projects delayed along with the reasons therefor; (d) whether any new ROBs and RUBs have been sanctioned/approved for Kerala during the last three years and if so, the details thereof, district and year-wise; and (e) the steps taken/being taken by the Government to expedite the completion of pending ROB and RUB projects in the said State along with the revised timeline fixed for completion of each project? ANSWER MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, INFORMATION & BROADCASTING AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW) (a) to (e): Sanctioning of works of Road over Bridge (ROB)/Road under Bridge (RUB) in lieu of Level crossings (LCs) is a continuous and dynamic process of Indian Railway. Such works are prioritised and taken up on the basis of their impact on safety in train operations, mobility of trains & impact for road users and feasibility etc. § Page 1 of 7No. of ROBs/ RUBs constructed on Indian Railways during the period 2004-14 vis a vis 2014-26 (Upto May’26) is as under: Period ROBs/ RUBs constructed 2004-14 4,148 Nos. 2014-26 (Upto May’26) 14,451 Nos. (131 Nos. in the State of Kerala) As on 01.06.2026, 4,993 Nos. ROB/ RUB works are sanctioned at a cost of approx. ₹ 1,17,492 Cr on Indian Railways including 145 Nos. ROB/ RUB at a cost of approx. ₹ 4,786 Cr in the state of Kerala which are at various stages of planning and execution. Out of these works, 104 works are sanctioned on cost sharing basis and 41 Nos. works are on 100% Railways cost. 52 Nos. ROBs/RUBs are delayed on account of the State Govt. The details are as under: # Reason ROBs/RUBs (in No.) 1. Delay in Land Acquisition by State Govt. 34 2. Finalization of Alignment by State Govt. 13 3. Agency yet to be fixed 5 Completion & commissioning of ROB/RUB works depends on various factors like cooperation of State Governments in giving consent for closure of LC, fixing of approach alignment, approval of General Arrangement Drawing (GAD), land acquisition, removal of encroachment, shifting of infringing utilities, statutory clearances from various authorities, law and order situation in the area of project / work sites, duration of Page 2 of 7working season in a year for the particular project / area due to climatic conditions etc. All these factors affect the completion time of the projects / works. Railways have taken following measures to expedite the progress of ROB/RUB works: i. Joint survey with concerned State Govt./Road Owning Authority is done before finalizing the General Arrangement Drawing (GAD) to ensure smooth execution. ii. Periodic meetings of Railway & State Government officials are done to resolve various issues related to ROB/RUB works. iii. Standardization of superstructure and substructure drawings for various combinations of span, skewness and width of road on the Railway portion has been done to avoid delays during the design approval. This has been issued in the form of a compendium, which can be directly adopted for Road Over Bridge across Railway lines for expeditious planning. Railway Budget:- Budget allocation in the recent years has increased significantly. Budget allocation for infrastructure projects and safety works, falling fully/partly in the State of Keralam is as under:- Period Outlay 2009-14 ₹ 372 crore/year 2026-27 ₹3,795 crore (more than 10 times) Page 3 of 7Projects Sanctioned:- As on 01.04.2026, 09 projects (03 new line and 06 doubling) of 302 km length, costing ₹11,650 crore falling fully/partly in Keralam are sanctioned. The summary is as under:- Category No. of Total Length Total Expenditure projects Length Commissioned upto March, 2026 (in Km) upto March, 2026 (₹ in Cr.) (in Km) New line 03 148 0 317 Doubling 06 154 40 3,550 /multitracking Total 09 302 40 3,867 Recently Completed Projects:- Details of some of the recently completed projects falling fully/partly in the State of Keralam are as under: # Project Cost (₹ in Crores) 1 Dindigul - Palghat & Pollachi - Coimbatore gauge 1,360 conversion (217 km) 2 Quilon- 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 Page 4 of 7Ongoing Projects:- Some of the projects falling fully/partly in the State of Keralam which have been taken up are as under: S.No. Project Cost (₹ in Crores) 1 Angamali-Sabarimala new line (111 km) 3,801 2 Ernakulam-Kumbalam doubling (8 km) 808 3 Kumbalam - Thuravur doubling (16 km) 1,172 4 Trivandrum- Kanyakumari doubling (87 km) 4,494 5 Alappuzha-Ambalapuzha doubling (13 km) 324 6 Turavur - Mararikulam doubling (21 km) 451 7 Mararikulam-Alappuzha doubling (11 km) 221 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 618 ha Land Acquired 78 ha (13%) Balance Land to be acquired 540 ha (87%) Railway had deposited ₹1,976 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: Page 5 of 7SN Name of the project Total Land Balance land acquired Land to required (in Ha) be (in Ha) acquired (in Ha) 1. Angamali - Sabarimala new line (111 304 25 279 km) 2. Ernakulam – Kumbalam Patch 4 3 1 doubling (8 km) 3. Kumbalam–Turavur Patch doubling(16 10 9 1 km) 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. 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 Page 6 of 7Completion 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. ***** Page 7 of 7