Parliament Question: Alignment of Chengalpattu-Mamallapuram railway line

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS RAJYA SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 157 ANSWERED ON 13.02.2026 ALIGNMENT OF CHENGALPATTU-MAMALLAPURAM RAILWAY LINE *157 DR. M. DHANAPAL: Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state: (a) whether Government has completed or updated feasibility studies, traffic surveys and technical evaluations for the Chengalpattu-Mamallapuram railway line alignment in Tamil Nadu in view of regional connectivity and tourism potential; (b) if so, the details of planning progress, alignment finalisation, funding provisions and inter- governmental coordination undertaken by Government so far; and (c) the steps proposed to be taken by Government to facilitate early commencement and phased implementation of this project? ANSWER MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, INFORMATION & BROADCASTING AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW) (a) to (c): A Statement is laid on the Table of the House. ***** §STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (c) OF STARRED QUESTION NO.157 BY DR. M. DHANAPAL ANSWERED IN RAJYA SABHA ON 13.02.2026 REGARDING ALIGNMENT OF CHENGALPATTU-MAMALLAPURAM RAILWAY LINE (a) to (c): Chengalpattu is an existing station on Chennai-Villupuram route. Mamallapuram is about 27 km away from Chengalpattu Jn. which serves as the transportation hub for the town & nearby region. A survey of Chengalpattu - Mamallapuram New line was carried out in 2014. According to the survey the project has low traffic projection. Southern Railway has been asked to update the survey with current data. Tamil Nadu Budget allocation in the recent years has increased significantly. Budget allocation for infrastructure projects and safety works, falling fully/partly in the State of Tamil Nadu is as under: Period Outlay 2009-14 ₹879 crore/year 2025-26 ₹ 6,626 crore (more than 7.5 times) As on 01.04.2025, 15 projects (09 new line, 03 gauge conversion and 03 doubling) of 1,700 km length, costing ₹22,808 Crore, falling fully/partly in the State of Tamil Nadu, are sanctioned. The summary is as under:- Category No. of Total Length Length Expenditure sanctioned (in km) Commissioned upto Mar’ 25 projects upto Mar’25 (₹ in Cr.) (in km) New Line 9 812 24 1,337 Gauge Conversion 3 748 604 3,471 Doubling /Multitracking 3 140 37 2,783 Total 15 1,700 665 7,591 Zonal Railway wise details of Railway projects are made available in public domain on Indian Railway’s website. ...2/- §-2- Details of some of the recently completed projects falling fully/partly in Tamil Nadu are as under : Cost S.N. Project (₹in Crores) 1 Dindigul-Palani-Pollachi gauge conversion (121 km) 610 2 Pollachi-Palghat gauge conversion (56 km) 350 3 Pollachi-Podhanur gauge conversion (40 km) 400 4 Quilon-Tirunelveli-Tiruchendur gauge conversion (357 km) 1,122 5 Mayiladuturai-Thiruvarur-Karaikkudi gauge conversion (187 km) 1,338 6 Madurai-Bodiyakannur gauge conversion (90 km) 593 7 Chengalpattu-Villupuram doubling (102 km) 670 8 Tiruvallur-Arakkonam 4th line (27 km) 83 9 Chennai Central-Basin Bridge doubling (2 km) 31 10 Thanjavur-Ponmalai doubling (48 km) 370 11 Villupuram-Dindigul doubling (273 km) 2,000 12 Chennai Beach-Korukkupet 3rd line (5 km) 168 13 Chennai Beach-Attipattu 4th line (22 km) 293 14 Omalur-Metturdam Patch doubling (29 km) 327 15 Chengalpattu-Villupuram and Tambaram-Chengalpattu-3rd line 1,122 (133 km) 16 Salem-Magnesite Junction-Omalur doubling (11 km) 115 17 Madurai- Maniyachi-Tuticorin doubling (160 km) 1,891 18 Maniyachi-Nagercoil doubling (102 km) 1,752 19 Chennai Beach-Chennai Egmore doubling (4 km) 272 20 Karaikal-Peralam new line (23 km) 373 21 Northern End Port connectivity to Karaikal Port (1 km) 18 Some of the projects falling fully/partly in the State of Tamil Nadu which have been taken up are as under : Cost S.N Project (₹ in Crores) 1 Tindivanam-Nagari new line (184 km) 3,631 2 Morappur-Dharmapuri new line (36 km) 359 3 Nagapattinam-Tiruturaipundi new line (43 km) 742 4 Trivandrum-Kanyakumari doubling (87 km) 3,785 5 Arakkonam yard 3rd & 4th line (6 km) 98 6 Perambur - Ambattur 5th & 6th lines (6 Km) 178 ...3/- §-3- In last three years i.e. 2022-23, 2023-24, 2024-25 and current financial year 2025-26, 29 surveys (06 new line and 23 doubling) covering a total length of 2,501 km has been sanctioned falling fully/partly in the State of Tamil Nadu. Execution of important infrastructure projects falling fully/partly in the State of Tamil Nadu are held up due to delay in land acquisition. Status of land acquisition in Tamil Nadu is as under: Total Land required for Projects in Tamil Nadu 4,326 ha Land Acquired 1,052 ha (24%) Balance Land to be acquired 3,274 ha (76%) Support of the Government of Tamil Nadu is needed to expedite the land acquisition. Details of some major projects which are delayed due to land acquisition are as under:- SN Name of the project Total land Land Balance required acquired Land to be (in ha) (in ha) acquired (in ha) 1. Tindivanam - Tiruvannamalai new line 2 7 6 33 243 (71 km) 2. Attiputtu-Puttur new line (88 km) 189 0 189 3. Morappur-Dharmapuri new line (36 km) 92 45 47 4. Mannargudi-Pattukkottai new line (41 km) 196 0 196 5. Thanjavur-Pattukottai new line (52 km) 152 0 152 Further, Rameshwaram – Dhanushkodi new line (18 km) was sanctioned at a cost of ₹734 Cr. The Foundation Stone of the project was laid on 01.03.2019. However, the project could not be started because the land acquisition has not been undertaken by the State Govt. of Tamil Nadu. Government of India is geared up to execute projects, however success depends upon the support of Government of Tamil Nadu. 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 ...4/- §-4-  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. ***** §