Parliament Question: Development of Ernakulam Marshalling Yard as a New Railway Terminal

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2831 TO BE ANSWERED ON 05.08.2026 DEVELOPMENT OF ERNAKULAM MARSHALLING YARD AS A NEW RAILWAY TERMINAL 2831. SHRI HIBI EDEN: Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state: (a) whether it is a fact that the existing railway stations in the Ernakulam area are facing severe capacity constraints and if so, the details thereof; (b) whether the Government has considered developing the Ernakulam Marshalling Yard, where Railways owns around 110 acres of land, into a new terminal to ease congestion and improve train operations in Central Kerala and if so, the details thereof; (c) whether there is a master plan for the proposed terminal at the Ernakulam Marshalling Yard and if so, the details thereof; (d) whether the Government will take steps to expedite the administrative procedures so that the proposal for developing the Ernakulam Marshalling Yard Terminal can move forward without further delay and if so, the details thereof; and (e) whether it is a fact that nearly 110 acres of railway land at the Ernakulam Marshalling Yard remain unutilised/underutilised and if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor? ANSWER MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, INFORMATION & BROADCASTING AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW) (a) to (e): Ernakulam area is catered by Ernakulam Junction and Ernakulam Town Railway Station. § Page 1 of 10Ernakulam Junction station is served by 136 passenger trains daily. Also, 08 Goods trains ply through the station daily. Presently, following facilities are available at Ernakulam Junction Station: • 10 Lines • 06 Platforms • 03 Pit lines • 06 Stabling lines Further, Ernakulam Town Station is served by 107 passenger trains daily. Also, 08 Goods trains ply through the station daily. Presently, following facilities are available at Ernakulam Town Station: • 04 lines • 02 Platforms The Coaching Terminals/Coaching Maintenance Depots are planned and executed based on anticipated passenger footfall, traffic trends, operational & maintenance requirements and requirements for further development. 59.57 acre Railway land is available at Ernakulam Marshalling yard which has been planned to be used for railway facilities and developmental works. Further, to improve the capacity and strengthen the railway network in Keralam, the following surveys/works have been taken up: S.N Project Status 1 Mangaluru – Kasaragod - Field Location Survey (FLS) has Shoranur 3rd Line (307 Km) been sanctioned for preparation of Detailed Project Report (DPR). Field Survey work completed. 2 Shoranur - Ernakulam 3rd & FLS has been sanctioned for Page 2 of 104th Line (107 Km) preparation of DPR. Field Survey work completed. 3 Ernakulam - Kayankulam 3rd FLS has been sanctioned for Line (via Kottayam) (115 Km) preparation of DPR. Traffic survey completed. 4 Kayankulam - FLS has been sanctioned for Thiruvananthapuram 3rd Line preparation of DPR. Field Survey (105 Km) work completed. 5 Thiruvananthapuram - FLS has been sanctioned for Nagercoil 3rd Line (71 Km) preparation of DPR. 6 Shoranur - Coimbatore 3rd & FLS has been sanctioned for 4th Line (99 Km) preparation of DPR. Field Survey work completed. 7 Ernakulam - Kumbalam Work has been sanctioned recently doubling (8 km) at a cost of Rs. 808 cr. 8 Kumbalam-Turavur doubling Work has been sanctioned recently (16 km) at a cost of Rs. 1,172 cr. 9 Turavur - Mararikulam Work has been sanctioned recently doubling (21 km) at a cost of Rs. 451 cr. 10 Mararikulam - Alappuzha Work has been sanctioned recently doubling (11 km) at a cost of Rs. 221 cr. 11 Alappuzha - Ambalapuzha Work has been sanctioned recently doubling (13 km) at a cost of Rs. 324 cr. After firming up of Detailed Project Report (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. Keralam:- Railway Budget:- Budget allocation in the recent years has increased significantly. Budget allocation for infrastructure projects and safety works, falling Page 3 of 10fully/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) Projects 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: S. Project Cost No. (₹ 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 10Ongoing 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: SN Name of the project Total Land Balance land acquired Land to be required (in Ha) acquired (in Ha) (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) Page 5 of 104. 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 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. Page 6 of 10Station Redevelopment:- Ministry of Railways has identified Ernakulam Town and Ernakulam Junction Railway Station for redevelopment under Amrit Bharat Station Scheme. The progress at Ernakulam Town and Ernakulam Junction stations is given below: At Ernakulam Junction station, the structural works of east terminal building, west terminal building, multi-level car parking and service building have been taken up. The structural works of P-way depot and P- way office has been completed and finishing works taken up. At Ernakulam Town railway station, the structural work of west terminal building- segment 1, multi level car parking, residential tower and foundation for the foot over bridge have been completed. The finishing work of multi level car parking, west terminal building (segment I) and super structure work of foot over bridge was taken up. However, due to slow progress of the work, the contract was terminated and retendering process has been taken up. Amrit Bharat Station Scheme envisages development of stations on a continuous basis with a long-term approach. It involves preparation of master plans and their implementation in phases to improve the stations of Indian Railways. The master planning, keeping in view the necessity of each station, 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/subway to commensurate with passenger traffic Page 7 of 10 Provision of lifts/escalators/ramps  Improvement of platform surface/ provision of platform shelter  Provision of kiosks for local products through schemes like ‘One Station One Product’  Parking development  Amenities for Divyangjans  Better passenger information systems  Provision of air concourse, executive lounges, Multimodal integration, landscaping, etc. The scheme also envisages sustainable and environment friendly solutions etc. as per necessity, phasing and feasibility and creation of city centre at the station in the long term. So far, 1340 stations have been identified for development under Amrit Bharat Station Scheme, out of which 35 stations including Ernakulam Junction and Ernakulam Town railway stations are located in Keralam. The names of stations identified for development under Amrit Bharat Station Scheme in Keralam are as following: State No. of Names of Stations Stations Alappuzha , Angadippuram, Angamali for Kaladi, Chalakudi, Changanassery, Chengannur, Chirayinkeezh, Ernakulam, Ernakulam Town, Ettumanur, Ferok, Guruvayur , Kannur, Kasargod, Keralam 35 Kayankulam Jn, Kollam Jn, Kozhikode, Kuttippuram, Mavelikara, Neyyattinkara , Nilambur Road, Ottappalam, Parappanangadi, Payyanur, Punalur, Shoranur Jn., Thalassery, Thiruvananthapuram Central, Thrisur, Tirur, Page 8 of 10Tiruvalla, Tripunithura, Vadakara, Varkala Shivagiri, Wadakancheri Completed Stations:- Development works at railway stations under Amrit Bharat Station Scheme in Keralam have been taken up at a good pace. The detail of stations where development works are completed in Keralam is as given below: State No. of Name of Stations Stations Angamaly for Kaladi, Chalakudi, Changanassery, Chirayinkeezh, Ferok, Guruvayur, Kuttippuram, Keralam 16 Mavelikara, Nilambur Road, Parappanangadi, Shoranur Jn., Thalassery, Tirur, Tripunithura, Vadakara, Wadakancheri The activities for development at other stations have also been taken up at good pace and progress of some of the stations is as given below:  Kasargod Station: The works of improvements of station building, new entrance porch, improvements of booking office and concourse, improvement of platform surface of platform no. 2 & 3, improvements of circulating area and parking, improvement of waiting hall, toilets, platform shelters, lifts, installation of coach indication board and improvement of amenities for Divyangjan have been completed. The works of extension of platform no. 1, 6 m wide foot over bridge, escalator and parking at second entry have been taken up.  Angadippuram station: The works of improvement of station building, new entrance porch, concourse and booking office, platform shelter, improvement of platform surfacing of platform no. 1 & 2, waiting hall, toilet, improvement of circulating area and parking, approach road, Page 9 of 10installation of coach indication board, train indication board, signages and lifts have been completed. The work of provision of 6 m wide foot over bridge has been taken up.  Payyanur station: The works of raising platform no. 2 & 3, provision of platform shelter, improvement of concourse, booking office, waiting hall, circulating area at second entry, parking, installation of coach indication board and train indication board have been completed. The works of improvement of station building, circulating area at main entry, amenities for Divyangjan, 6 m wide foot over bridge and lifts have been taken up.  Kollam station: The works of service building, multi level car parking and parcel building have been completed. The works of 12 m wide foot over bridge, air concourse, north terminal building, south terminal building and platform upgradation have been taken up. Further, 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. ***** Page 10 of 10