Parliament Question: Demands for new railways projects in Tamil Nadu

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS RAJYA SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 236 ANSWERED ON 13.03.2026 DEMANDS FOR NEW RAILWAYS PROJECTS IN TAMIL NADU *236 SHRI I.S. INBADURAI: Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state: (a) whether Government has reviewed the long-pending demands in Tamil Nadu relating to new lines, doubling, electrification and stoppages, if so, the details thereof; (b) whether a State-wise prioritisation mechanism exists for sanctioning railway projects and the criteria adopted, including Tamil Nadu’s position; (c) whether proposals including new line connectivity between Kanyakumari, Rameswaram and Tisayanvilai, additional express services and station upgrades have been pending for over five years, if so, the details thereof; and (d) whether adequate funds were allocated during the last three years and whether delays are due to land acquisition, funding or administrative reasons, if so, the details thereof? ANSWER MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, INFORMATION & BROADCASTING AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW) (a) to (d): A Statement is laid on the Table of the House. ***** §STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (d) OF STARRED QUESTION NO.236 BY SHRI I.S. INBADURAI ANSWERED IN RAJYA SABHA ON 13.03.2026 REGARDING DEMANDS FOR NEW RAILWAYS PROJECTS IN TAMIL NADU (a) to (d): 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) Project sanctioned:- 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. Recently Completed Projects:- Details of some of the recently completed projects falling fully/partly in Tamil Nadu are as under : S.N Cost 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 ...2/- §-2- 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 (133 km) 1,122 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 Ongoing Projects:- 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 7 Irugur-Podanur doubling (11 Km) 277 8 Tambaram-Chengalpattu 4th Line (30 km) 757 9 Attipattu-Gummidipundi 3rd & 4th line (23 km) 375 10 Tirupati-Pakala-Katpadi doubling (105 km) 1332 11 Tindivanam-Gingee-Tiruvannamalai New Line (71 Km) 1400 12 Atipattu – Puttur New Line (88 Km) 1700 13 Chennai – Cuddulore via Mahabalipuram New Line (179 2670 Km) 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%) ...3/- §-3- 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. 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 2,478 km has been sanctioned falling fully/partly in the State of Tamil Nadu. Rameswaram is already connected to Kanniyakumari with existing railway network via Virudhanagar, Tirunelveli and Nagercoil. The Kulasekharapatnam Light Railway (private narrow gauge railway), in Tisayanvilai-Kulasekharapatnam-Tiruchendur (43 km) section, had been operational till 1940 on private land. Thereafter, it was closed. Railway Electrification: Electrification of railway network on Indian Railways has been taken up in mission mode. So far, about 99.4% of Broad Gauge (BG) network has been electrified. The electrification in remaining network has been taken up. Electrification carried out during 2014-25 and before 2014 is as under:- Period Route Kilometer Before 2014 (about 60 years) 21,801 2014-25 46,900 ...4/- §-4- In Tamil Nadu, 97% of BG network has been electrified and electrification in remaining network has been taken up. Trains Stoppage: Proposals/ requests/ suggestions/ representations, both formal and informal inter alia for introduction/provision of stoppage of trains are received from Members of Parliament, elected representatives, organizations/rail users etc. at various levels including Railway Board, Zonal Railways, Divisional Office etc. As receipt of such proposals/ requests/suggestions is a continuous and dynamic process, centralized compendium of such requests is not maintained. However, these are examined and action as found feasible and justified is taken from time to time, which is an on-going process. Further, as the Railway network straddles across State/district boundaries, trains are operated, as per network requirement, across such boundaries. However, to facilitate the passengers of Tamil Nadu, during the period 01.04.2021 to 28.02.2026, 295 stoppages have been provided and following 52 new train services (including 16 Vande Bharat train services and 12 Amrit Bharat) have been introduced on orignating/terminating basis: Sl. Train No. and Name 1 20609/20610 Tiruchchirappalli - New Jalpaiguri Amrit Bharat Express 2 16121/16122 Tambaram - Trivandrum central Amrit Bharat Express 3 16329/16330 Nagercoil - Mangaluru Junction Amrit Bharat Express 4 20603/20604 Nagercoil - New jalpaiguri Amrit Bharat Express 5 16107/16108 Tambaram - Santragachi Amrit Bharat Express 6 16601/16602 Erode - Jogbani Amrit Bharat Express 7 20671/20672 Madurai - Bangalore Cantt. Vande Bharat Express 8 20627/20628 Chennai Egmore - Nagercoil Vande Bharat Express 9 20663/20664 Mysuru - MGR Chennai Central Vande Bharat Express 10 20641/20642 Bengaluru Cantt. - Coimbatore Vande Bharat Express 11 20665/20666 Chennai Egmore - Triunelenveli Vande Bharat Express ...5/- §-5- 12 20677/20678 MGR Chennai Central - Vijayawada Vande Bharat Express 13 20643/20644 MGR Chennai Central Chennai - Coimbatore Vande Bharat Express 14 20607/20608 MGR Chennai Central - Mysuru Vande Bharat Express 15 66621/66622 Salem - Erode MEMU 16 20625/20626 MGR Chennai Central - Bhagat Ki Kothi Express 17 16103/16104 Tambaram - Rameswaram Express 18 66563/66564 Yesvantpur- Hosur MEMU 19 16765/16766 Mettupalaiyam - Tuticorin Express 20 16367/16368 Kanniyakumari - Banaras Kashi Tamil Sangamam Express 21 56113/56114 (Old no. 06421/06422) Coimbatore - Pollachi Passenger 22 16361/16362 Ernakulam - Velankanni Express 23 20683/20684 Tambaram - Sengottai Express 24 76627/76628 Agastiampalli - Tiruturaipundi DEMU 25 76629/76630 Agastiampalli - Tiruturaipundi DEMU 26 56701/56702 (Old no. 06701/06702) Madurai - Teni Passenger Besides, provision of stoppages of train services and introduction of new train services which depends on the traffic justification, operational feasibility, competing demands, etc., are on-going processes on Indian Railways. Amrit Bharat Stations: 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 …6/- §-6-  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, 1,337 stations have been identified for development under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme. Out of these, 77 stations are located in Tamil Nadu. The name of stations identified under Amrit Bharat Station Scheme in Tamil Nadu are as following: No. of State Name of Stations Stations Tamil Nadu 77 Ambasamudram, Ambattur, Arakkonam Jn, Ariyalur, Avadi, Bommidi, Chengalpattu Jn, Chennai Beach, Chennai Egmore, Chennai Park, Chidambaram, Chinna Salem, Chrompet, Coimbatore Jn, Coimbatore North, Coonoor, Dharmapuri, Dindigul, Erode Jn., Guduvancheri, Guindy, Gummidipundi, Hosur, Jolarpettai Jn, Kanniyakumari Terminus, Karaikkudi Jn, Karur Jn, Katpadi Jn, Kovilpatti, Kulitturai, Kumbakonam, Lalgudi, Madurai Jn, Mambalam, Manaparai, Mannargudi, Mayiladuturai Jn, Mettupalayam, Morappur, Nagercoil Jn, Namakkal, Palani, Paramakkudi, Perambur, Podanur Jn., Pollachi Jn, Polur, Pudukkottai, Puratchi Thalaivar Dr. M.G. Ramachandran Central, Rajapalayam, Ramanathapuram, Rameswaram, Salem, Samalpatti, Sholavandan, Srirangam, Srivilliputtur, St.Thomas Mount, § ...7/--7- No. of State Name of Stations Stations Tambaram, Tenkasi, Thanjavur Jn, Thiruvarur Jn., Tiruchendur, Tirunelveli Jn, Tirupadripulyur, Tirupattur, Tiruppur, Tirusulam, Tiruttani, Tiruvallur, Tiruvannamalai, Tuticorin, Udagamandalam, Vellore Cantt., Villupuram Jn., Virudhunagar, Vriddhachalam Jn. Completed stations: Development works at railway stations under Amrit Bharat Station Scheme in Tamil Nadu have been taken up at a good pace. Details of stations completed in Tamil Nadu are as under: No. of State Name of stations stations Bommidi, Chennai Park, Chidambaram, Chinna Salem, Karaikkudi Jn, Kulitturai, Mambalam, Manaparai, Mannargudi, Morappur, Tamil 20 Pollachi Jn, Polur, Samalpatti, Sholavandan, Srirangam, Srivilliputtur, Nadu St. Thomas Mount, Thiruvarur Jn., Tiruvannamalai, Vriddhachalam Jn. The activities for development at other stations have also been taken up at good pace and progress of some of the above stations is as given below:  Palani station: The works of improvement of station building, platform shelter, waiting hall, toilet, circulating area, parking, entry/exit arch, lift at existing Foot Over Bridge, coach indication board and train indication board have been completed. The works of Divyangjan facilities and 6 m Foot Over Bridge have been taken up.  Virudhunagar Junction station: The works of circulating area, parking, entry/exit arch, Divyangjan facilities, coach indication board and train indication board have been completed. The works of improvement of station building and 6 m Foot Over Bridge have been taken up.  Karur Junction station: The works of improvement of station building, main entrance arch, AC waiting hall, toilet at platform no. 1, 2/3 & 4/5, circulating area and parking have been completed. The works of lift, escalator and 12 m Foot Over Bridge have been taken up.  Thanjavur Junction station: The works of portico, improvement of concourse, platform shelter, ...8/- §-8-  improvement of booking office, circulating area, exit arch and signages have been completed. The works of parking, lift, escalator, coach indication board and train indication board have been taken up.  Villupuram Junction station: The works of new arrival building, platform shelter, improvement of platform surface, booking counter, parcel office, improvement of parking and signages have been completed. The works of improvement of concourse, circulating area, parking, entrance arch, coach indication board, train indication board, escalator and 6 m Foot Over Bridge 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. Development / redevelopment / upgradation / modernisation of a station is carried out based on category of station/condition/traffic handled etc. Development / Upgradation of stations is complex in nature involving safety of passengers & trains and requires various statutory clearances such as fire clearance, heritage, tree cutting, airport clearance etc. The progress also gets affected due to brownfield related challenges such as shifting of utilities (involving water/sewage lines, optical fibre cables, gas pipe lines, power/signal cables, etc.), infringements, operation of trains without hindering passenger movement, speed restrictions due to works carried out in close proximity of tracks and high voltage power lines, etc. and these factors affect the completion time. Development / Upgradation / Modernization of stations including Amrit Bharat Station Scheme is generally funded under Plan Head-53 ‘Customer Amenities’. The details of allocation and expenditure under Plan Head-53 are maintained Zonal Railway-wise and not work-wise or station-wise or state- wise. Tamil Nadu is covered under the jurisdiction of two railway zones, namely, Southern Railway and South Western Railway. For these zones, an allocation of ₹ 4,632 crore has been made for the last two years and the current year (up to January, 2026), out of which an expenditure of ₹ 4,439 crore has been incurred so far. 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 ...9/- §-9-  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. ***** §