Parliament Question: Creation of East Coast Railways in Tamil Nadu

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1643 TO BE ANSWERED ON 29.07.2026 CREATION OF EAST COAST RAILWAYS IN TAMIL NADU 1643. KM. SUDHA R: Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state: (a) whether any representation has been received by the Ministry to form an East Coast Railway on the lines of Konkan Railways on the West Coast; (b) if so, the details of the status of the representation and whether any survey has been ordered or any other administrative action taken thereon; (c) whether starting of East Coast Railway from northernmost Pulicat to the southernmost Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu is feasible and if so, the details thereof; (d) whether there is any time frame set to undertake a study of the East Coast Railway and if so, the details thereof and any indication of the possible budget outlay; and (e) whether the East Coast Railway is proposed to start in Tamil Nadu and if so, the details thereof and whether it is likely to be announced as a policy? ANSWER MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, INFORMATION & BROADCASTING AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW) (a) to (e): Chennai and Kanniyakumari, on East Coast of Tamil Nadu, are already connected through existing railway network via Vriddhachalam, Tiruchchirapalli, Madurai, Tirunelveli and Nagercoil. To improve connectivity in coastal region of Tamil Nadu, the following works/surveys have been taken up: § Page 1 of 8S.N. Project Status 1 Chennai-Cuddalore new line Chennai - Cuddalore via (179 km) Mamallapuram, MaraKanam, Puducherry (179 km) new line project is a sanctioned project. The project was kept on hold due to alignment issues near Puducherry. However, due to demands from the various public and to cater to requirements of developments of coastal area, it has been decided to take this project forward. 2 Nagapattinam-Tiruturaipundi Land Acquisition of 108 Ha out new line (36 km) of 120 Ha has been completed. 11 out of 23 major bridges completed. 288 out of 330 minor bridges completed. 01 out of 04 Road Over Bridges (ROB) completed. 21 out of 34 Road Under Bridges (RUB) completed. 7 out of 11 station buildings Page 2 of 8completed. Work taken up in balance section. 3 Tambaram-Chengalpattu 4th line Recently sanctioned at a cost of (30 km) Rs. 757 Crore. 4 Villupuram-Nagercoil 3rd & 4th Survey sanctioned for line (565 km) preparation of Detailed Project Report (DPR) 5 Villupuram-Thanjavaur doubling Survey sanctioned for (193 km) preparation of DPR 6 Thanjavur-Thiruvarur-Karaikal DPR prepared doubling (96 km) 7 Manamadurai - Rameswaram Survey sanctioned for Doubling (113 km) preparation of DPR 8 Gummidipundi-Gudur 3rd& 4th DPR prepared Line (90 km) After preparation of 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 depend upon appraisals and approvals by various stakeholders. Proposals/requests/suggestions/representations, both formal and informal for Railway projects/Works across the country are received on the basis of demands raised by State Governments, Members of Parliament, Ministries of Central Government, elected representatives, Railways’ own requirements, organizations/rail users etc. at various levels including Railway Board, Zonal Railways, Division Office etc. The receipt of such proposals/complaints/suggestions is a continuous and dynamic process. Page 3 of 8These are examined and action as found feasible and justified is taken from time to time. Tamil Nadu: Railway Budget:- Budget allocation in 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 2026-27 ₹ 7,611 Crore (more than 8 times) Track Construction: The details of constructing new track falling fully/partly in the State of Tamil Nadu are as under: Period New track Commissioned 2009-14 923 km 2014-26 1,356 km Projects sanctioned:- As on 01.04.2026, 19 projects (08 new line, 03 gauge conversion and 08 doubling) of total length of 1,874 km, costing ₹27,282 Crore, falling fully/partly in the State of Tamil Nadu have been sanctioned. The summary is as under:- Category No. of Total Length Total Exp. projects Length Commissioned upto March, (in km) upto March, 2026 2026 (in km) (₹ in Crores) New Line 8 811 24 1,514 Gauge 3 748 631 3,605 Conversion Doubling 8 314 54 3,693 /Multitracking Total 19 1,874 709 8,811 Page 4 of 8Recently Completed Projects:- Details of some of the recently completed projects falling fully/partly in the State of Tamil Nadu are as under:- S.N. Project Cost (₹ in Crores) 1 Dindigul- Pollachi gauge conversion (121 km) 610 2 Pollachi-Palghat gauge conversion (56 km) 350 3 Pollachi-Podhanur gauge conversion (40 km) 400 4 Quilon- Tiruchendur gauge conversion (357 km) 1,122 5 Mayiladuturai - 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 Thanjavur-Ponmalai doubling (48 km) 370 10 Villupuram-Dindigul doubling (273 km) 2,000 11 Chennai Beach-Attipattu 4th line (22 km) 293 12 Omalur-Metturdam Patch doubling (29 km) 327 13 Chengalpattu - Villupuram and Tambaram - 1,122 Chengalpattu-3rd line (133 km) 14 Salem- Omalur doubling (11 km) 115 15 Madurai- Tuticorin doubling (160 km) 1,891 16 Maniyachi-Nagercoil doubling (102 km) 1,752 17 Chennai Beach-Chennai Egmore doubling (4 km) 272 Ongoing Projects:- Some of the projects falling fully/partly in the State of Tamil Nadu which have been taken up are as under: Page 5 of 8S.N. Project Cost (₹ in Crores) 1 Tindivanam-Nagari new line (184 km) 3,631 2 Morappur-Dharmapuri new line (36 km) 359 3 Trivandrum-Kanyakumari doubling (87 km) 4,494 4 Irugur-Podanur doubling (11 km) 277 5 Tambaram-Chengalpattu 4th line (30 km) 757 6 Attipattu-Gummidipundi 3rd & 4th line (23 km) 365 7 Tirupati- Katpadi doubling (105 km) 1,216 8 Tindivanam- Tiruvannamalai new line (71 km) 1,400 9 Baiyapannahalli- Hosur doubling (48 km) 1,160 10 Arakkonam-Chengalpattu doubling (68 km) 993 11 Erode- Karur doubling (67 km) 986 In last three years i.e. 2023-24, 2024-25, 2025-26 and current financial year 2026-27, 29 surveys (04 new line and 25 doubling) covering a total length of 3,517 km falling fully/partly in the State of Tamil Nadu has been sanctioned. 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 4,612 ha Land Acquired 1,178 ha (26%) Balance Land to be acquired 3,434 ha (74%) 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:- Page 6 of 8SN Name of the project Total Land Balance land acquired Land to be required (in ha) acquired (in ha) (in ha) 1. Tindivanam - Tiruvannamalai 276 33 243 new line (71 km) 2. Attiputtu-Puttur new line (88 km) 189 0 189 3. Morappur-Dharmapuri new line 93 47 46 (36 km) 4. Mannargudi-Pattukkottai new 204 0 204 line (41 km) 5. Thanjavur-Pattukottai new line 152 0 152 (52 km) Further, Rameshwaram – Dhanushkodi new line (18 km) was sanctioned at a cost of ₹734 Crore. 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  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 7 of 8Completion 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 8 of 8