Parliament Question: Construction of Fourth Platform at Kannur Railway Station

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 Total Length Balance Expenditure projects Length Commiss to upto March ioned complete 2025 (Rs.in Crore) New line 02 146 Km 0 Km 146 Km 309 Doubling 2,941 04 120 Km 26 Km 94 Km /multitracking 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: Cost S.N Project (₹in Crores) 1 Dindigul-Pollachi-Palghat & Pollachi- 1,360 Coimbatore Gauge Conversion (217 km) 2 Quilon-Tirunelveli-Tiruchendur Gauge 1,122 Conversion (357 km) 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 (27 749 km)Some of the projects falling fully/partly in Kerala which have been taken up are as under: Cost S No. Project (₹ 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 theland 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 Land Balance required acquired Land to be (in Ha) (in Ha) acquired (in Ha) 1. Angamali - Sabarimala new 416 24 392 line (111 Km) 2. Ernakulam – Kumbalam 4 1 3 Patch Doubling (8 Km) 3. Kumbalam – Turavur Patch 10 6 4 Doubling (16 Km) 4. Trivandrum - Kanyakumari 41 33 8 Doubling (87 Km) 5. Shoranur - Vallathol 5 0 5 Doubling (10 Km) 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 Stations Kerala 35 Alappuzha, Angadippuram, Angamali For Kaladi, Chalakudi, Changanassery, Chengannur, Chirayinkeezh, Ernakulam, Ernakulam Town,State No. of Name of Stations 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 inter- se 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. *****