Parliament Question: High-speed railway corridor between Kannur and Thiruvananthapuram

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS RAJYA SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 228 ANSWERED ON 13.03.2026 HIGH-SPEED RAILWAY CORRIDOR BETWEEN KANNUR AND THIRUVANANTHAPURAM *228 DR. JOHN BRITTAS: Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state: (a) whether it is a fact that ‘Metroman’ has submitted a new proposal to Government for a high-speed railway corridor connecting Kannur and Thiruvananthapuram; (b) if so, the details of the proposal, including the proposed alignment, estimated cost, funding pattern and projected timeline; (c) whether Government has examined the said proposal; and (d) if so, the stand of Government towards the proposal? 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.228 BY DR. JOHN BRITTAS ANSWERED IN RAJYA SABHA ON 13.03.2026 REGARDING HIGH-SPEED RAILWAY CORRIDOR BETWEEN KANNUR AND THIRUVANANTHAPURAM (a) to (d): A letter has been received from Dr. E. Sreedharan recently wherein it has been proposed for preparation of a Detailed Project Report (DPR) for high speed rail corridor between Thiruvananthapuram and Kannur with a maximum operating speed of about 180 kmph. This letter has been sent to Board for examination. However, to augment & improve the railway network in Kerala, the following surveys have been sanctioned for preparation of Detailed Project Report (DPR) by Indian Railways: S. No. Route Length (Km) 1 Shoranur-Mangalore 3rd & 4th Line 307 2 Coimbatore-Shoranur 3rd & 4th line 99 3 Shoranur – Ernakulam 3rd Line 106 4 Ernakulam-Kayankulam 3rd line (via Kottayam) 115 5 Kayankulam-Thiruvanathapuram 3rd Line 105 6 Thiruvanathapuram-Nagercoil 3rd Line 71 7 Mararikulam - Alappuzha Doubling 13 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 cannot be fixed. Kerala:- Budget allocation 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 ₹ 372 crore/year 2025-26 ₹3,042 crore (more than 8 times) §Projects Sanctioned As on 01.04.2025, 06 projects (02 new line and 04 doubling) of 266 km length, costing ₹9,415 crore falling fully/partly in Kerala are sanctioned. The summary is as under:- Category No. of Total Length Balance Expenditure projects Length Commissioned to upto March complete 2025 ( ₹ in Crore) New line 02 146 km 0 km 146 km 309 Doubling / 04 120 km 26 km 94 km 2,941 multitracking Total 06 266 km 26 km 240 km 3,250 Zonal Railway wise details of Railway projects are made available in public domain on Indian Railway’s website. Details of some of the recently completed projects falling fully/partly in Kerala are as under: S. No. Project Cost (₹ in Crores) 1. Dindigul-Pollachi-Palghat & Pollachi-Coimbatore gauge 1,360 conversion (217 km) 2. Quilon-Tirunelveli-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 Some of the projects falling fully/partly in Kerala which have been taken up are as under: S. No. Project Cost (₹ in Crores) 1. Tirunnavaya –Guruvayur new line (35 Km) 138 2. Angamali-Sabarimala new line (111 km) 3,801 3. Ernakulam-Kumbalam doubling (8 km) 595 4. Kumbalam-Thuravur Patch doubling (16 km) 803 5. Trivandrum- Kanyakumari doubling (87 km) 3,786 6. Shoranur - Vallathol doubling (10 km) 367 7. Palakkad Town – Parli bypass line (2 Km) 164 8. Alappuzha- Ambalapuzha doubling (13 Km) 324 9. Turavur – Mararikulam doubling (21 km) 451 §In last three years (i.e. 2022-2023, 2023-2024, 2024-25 and current financial year i.e. 2025-26), total 09 Nos. of Surveys (03 new line and 06 doubling) falling fully/partly in the State of Kerala having a total length of 1,101 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 the land acquisition. For instance, details of some major projects which are delayed due to land acquisition are as under:- S. Name of the project Total land Land Balance Land No. required acquired to be (in Ha) (in Ha) acquired (in Ha) 1. Angamali - Sabarimala new line (111 km) 416 24 392 2. Ernakulam-Kumbalam Patch doubling (8 km) 4 3 1 3. Kumbalam-Turavur Patch doubling (16 km) 10 9 1 4. Shoranur - Vallathol doubling (10 km) 5 0 5 ROBs/RUBs in Kerala To improve safety in train operations and mobility for road users, Indian Railways have taken up construction of Road Over Bridge (ROBs)/ Road Under Bridges (RUBs) across tracks in accelerated manner. The number of ROBs/RUBs constructed across tracks on Indian Railways during the period 2004-14 vis a vis 2014-26 (upto Jan’26) is as under: Period ROBs/RUBs constructed 2004-14 4,148 Nos. 2014-26 (upto Jan’26) 14,024 Nos. (including 121 Nos. In the State of Kerala) As on 01.02.2026, 138 Nos. Road Over Bridges/Road Under Bridges (ROBs/RUBs) across railways tracks have been sanctioned at the cost of ₹ 4,835 crore in the State of Kerala which are at various stages of planning and execution. Out of these, 105 Nos. ROBs are delayed on account of the State Govt. The details are as under: §S. No. Reason ROBs (in No.) 1. Delay in Land Acquisition by State Govt. 38 2. Finalization of Alignment by State Govt. 63 3. Law & order/ Public Protest/Court cases etc. 2 4. Agency yet to be fixed 3 Government of India is geared up to execute projects, however success depends upon the support of Government of Kerala. Sanctioning 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 including ROBs/RUBs depends on various factors which include the following:  Land acquisition by State Government  Forest clearance  State Governments’ consent for closure of LC, fixing of approach alignment and approval of General Arrangement Drawing (GAD) for ROBs/RUBs  Removal of encroachments  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. ***** §