Parliament Question: Mission Raftaar

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1637 TO BE ANSWERED ON 10.12.2025 MISSION RAFTAAR 1637. SHRI C N ANNADURAI: SHRI NAVASKANI K: SHRI SELVAM G: Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state: (a) whether the Government is aware that under Mission Raftaar, the average speed of freight and mail/express trains has increased significantly due to continuous infrastructure upgradation during the last decade, and if so, the details thereof; (b) the details of the railway sections in Tamil Nadu where the speed potential has been enhanced to 110 kmph and 130 kmph; (c) the current status of ongoing railway projects in Tamil Nadu, including new lines, gauge conversion, and doubling/multi-tracking works, along with the total expenditure incurred and the progress achieved so far; (d) whether the Government has proposed any specific measures to further increase train speeds and modernize railway infrastructure in Tamil Nadu since 2025–26 and if so, the details thereof; and (e) the steps taken by the Government for timely execution of sanctioned projects under Mission Raftaar and related infrastructure programmes in Tamil Nadu?ANSWER MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, INFORMATION & BROADCASTING AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW) (a) to (e): Speeding up of trains is a constant endeavor and a continuous process which is dependent upon upgradation of tracks, signaling system, OHE, high powered locos, modern coaches, etc. The medium-term and long-term plans to achieve the Mission include infrastructure improvement i.e. construction of 3rd line/4th line, providing by- passes, rail flyovers, right-powering of trains, replacement of conventional loco hauled trains by MEMUs, upgrading of signaling system, 2x25 KV traction system, etc. Upgradation and improvement of railway tracks on Indian Railways to increase the speed potential have been carried out in a big way since 2014. The measures for track upgradation include use of 60 kg rails, wider base concrete sleepers, thick web switches, longer rail panels, H Beam sleepers, modern track renewal and maintenance machines, etc. As a result of the above measures, there has been a significant increase in the speed potential of the rail network. The details of speed potential of entire railway network over Indian Railways during 2025 vis-à-vis 2014 are as under: Sectional Speed 2014 2025 (kmph) Track Km % Track Km % 130 & above 5,036 6.3 23,010 21.8110-130 26,409 33.3 60,276 57.5 < 110 47,897 60.4 21,936 20.8 Total 79,342 100 1,05,672 100 Sections having speed potential of 130 kmph in Tamil Nadu are as under:  Chennai - Arambakkam (Chennai - Gudur route)  Chennal - Arakkonam - Katpadi - Jolarpettai  Arakkonam - Ponpadi (Arakkonam - Renigunta route)  Jolarpettai - Patchur (Jolarpettai - Bengaluru) Tamil Nadu 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 ₹6626 crore/year (more than 7.5 times) To improve the connectivity in Tamil Nadu, as on 01.04.2025, 15 projects (09 New Line, 03 Gauge Conversion and 03 doubling) of total length 1,700 Km, costing ₹22,808 Crore, falling fully/partly in the State of Tamil Nadu, are sanctioned. The summary of the same is as under:- No. of Total Length Expenditure upto Category Projects Length Commissioned March 2025 (in Km) Upto March (₹ in Cr.) 2025 (in Km) New Line 09 812 24 1,337Gauge Conversion 03 748 604 3471 Doubling/Multi 03 140 37 2783 tracking Total 15 1,700 665 7,591 Railway projects in Tamil Nadu are covered by Southern Railway (SR), South Central Railway (SCR) and South Western Railway (SWR) zones of Indian Railways. Zonal Railway wise details of Railway projects are made available in public domain of Indian Railway’s website. Details of some of the recently completed projects falling fully/partly in Tamil Nadu are as under: S.N. Project Cost (₹ in Cr.) 1 Dindigal-Palani-Pollachi Gauge Conversion (121 610 Km) 2 Pollachi-Palghat Gauge Conversion (56 Km) 350 3 Pollachi-Podhanur Gauge Conversion (40 Km) 400 4 Quilon-Tirunelveli-Tiruchendur Gauge Conversion 1122 (357 Km) 5 Mayiladuturai-Thiruvarur-Karaikkudi Gauge 1338 Conversion (187 Km) 6 Madurai-Bodiyakannur Gauge Conversion (90 Km) 593 7 Chengalpattu-Villupuram Doubling (102 Km) 670 8 Tiruvallur-Arakkonam 4th line (27 Km) 83 9 Chennai Central-Basin Bridge Doubling (2 Km) 31 10 Thanjavur-Ponmalai Doubling (48 Km) 370 11 Villupuram-Dindigul Doubling (273 Km) 2000 12 Chennai Beach-Korukkupet 3rd line (5 Km) 16813 Chennai Beach-Attipattu 4th line (22 Km) 293 14 Omalur-Metturdam Patch Doubling (29 Km) 327 15 Chengalpattu-Villupuram and Tambaram- 1122 Chengalpattu-3rd line (133 Km) 16 Salem-Magnesite Junction-Omalur Doubling (11Km) 115 17 Madurai- Maniyachi-Tuticorin Doubling (160 Km) 1891 18 Maniyachi-Nagercoil Doubling (102 Km) 1752 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 18 (1Km) Some of the projects falling fully/partly in the State of Tamil Nadu which have been taken up are as under: S.N. Project Cost (₹ in Cr.) 1 Tindivanam-Nagari new line (184 Km) 3631 2 Morappur-Dharmapuri new line (36 Km) 359 3 Nagapattinam-Tiruturaipundi new line (43 Km) 742 4 Trivandrum-Kanyakumari Doubling (87 Km) 3785 5 Arakkonam yard 3rd & 4th line (6 Km) 98 During the last three years i.e. 2022-23, 2023-24, 2024-25 and the current financial year 2025-26, 28 surveys (05 New Line and 23 Doubling) covering a total length of 2,493 Km has been sanctioned falling fully/partly in the State of Tamil Nadu.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 1052 Ha (24%) Balance Land to be acquired 3274 Ha (76%) 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:- Total land Land Balance Land S.N. Name of the project required acquired to be acquired (in Ha) (in Ha) (in Ha) 1. Tindivanam-Tiruvannamalai 276 33 243 New Line (71 km) 2. Attiputtu-Puttur New Line 189 0 189 (88 km) 3. Morappur-Dharmapuri New 92 45 47 Line(36 km) 4. Mannargudi-Pattukottai New 196 0 196 line (41Kkm) 5. Thanjavur-Pattukottai New 152 0 152 line(52 km) Further, Rameshwaram - Dhanushkodi New Line (18 Km) was sanctioned at a cost of Rs.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. Sanction of any railway project depend 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 projects 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 projects.Station Redevelopment 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 77 stations are located in the state ofTamil Nadu. The names of stations identified for development under Amrit Bharat Station Scheme in the state of Tamil Nadu are as following: No. of State Name of Stations Stations Tamil 77 Ambasamudram, Ambattur, Arakkonam Jn, Ariyalur, Avadi, Bommidi, Chengalpattu Jn, Nadu 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, 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. Development works at railway stations under Amrit Bharat Station Scheme in the state of Tamil Nadu have been taken up at a good pace. Till now, works of 17 stations (Bommidi, Chidambaram, Karaikkudi Jn., Kulitturai,Manaparai, Mannargudi, Morappur, Pollachi Jn., Polur, Samalpatti, Sholavandan, Srirangam, Srivilliputtur, St.Thomas Mount, Thiruvarur Jn., Tiruvannamalai, Vriddhachalam Jn.) in the state of Tamil Nadu have been completed under this scheme. Further, works have been taken up at 56stations and 4 stations are under master planning. The works have been taken up at good pace and progress of some of the above stations is as given below:  Tirupadripulyur station: The works of parking area and signages have been completed. The works of entrance arch, portico, improvement to waiting hall, platform surface, platform shelter, toilet, train indication board, approach road and parking area have been taken up.  Vellore Cantt. station: The works for improvement of circulating area, booking office, new platform shelter, improvement to terminal building, platform surfacing, waiting hall, toilet, new compound wall, signages, coach indication board, standard ramp, Divyangjan parking, low height ticket booth, Divyangjan friendly toilets, tactile pathway, accessible path, improvement of landscape and station illumination have been completed. The finishing works have been taken up.  Ariyalur station: The works for improvement of terminal building with porch, concourse, booking office, waiting lobby, improvement to circulating area, platform surfacing, improvement to waiting hall, new toilet, standard ramp, coach indication boards, Divyangjan parking, low height ticket booth, Divyangjan friendly toilets, tactile pathway, accessible path, lighting, improvement of existing Foot Over Bridge, new platformshelter and coach indication boards have been completed. The work for construction of new 6 mFoot Over Bridge has been taken up.  Rameswaram station:The structural works of East/North terminal building, departure forecourt, arrival forecourt, residential tower, sub-station building, desalination plant and sewage treatment plant have been completed. ⁠ The masonry works of East terminal building, finishing works of North terminal building, departure forecourt, arrival forecourt, residential tower, platform upgradation including platform shelter and revamping of existing waiting hall 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. Master planning is an iterative process requiring optimization and the time frame and other details for such optimization cannot be indicated at this stage. Further, development / upgradation / modernisation 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. The state of Tamil Nadu is covered under the jurisdiction of two railway zones, namely,SouthernRailway andSouth Western Railway.For the last four years and the current year, ₹ 5,449 crore has been allocated while an expenditure of ₹ 4,439 crore has been incurred during the last four years and current year (up to October, 2025). Development / Upgradation of railway 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. Therefore, no time frame can be indicated at this stage. *****