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GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 6154
TO BE ANSWERED ON 01.04.2026
NEW TRAIN SERVICES IN TAMIL NADU
6154. SHRI SELVAM G:
SHRI C N ANNADURAI:
Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:
(a) whether the Government proposes to expand the railway network and
introduce new train services in various regions of Tamil Nadu to
improve connectivity particularly in rapidly developing districts and
tourist destinations;
(b) if so, the details of the new railway lines, doubling, electrification and
passenger train services proposed or under consideration in the State;
(c) whether the Government proposes to introduce additional Vande Bharat
Express services connecting major cities of Tamil Nadu or include more
stations in the existing routes;
(d) if so, the project-wise details of funds allocated, released and utilised
for railway infrastructure development in Tamil Nadu during the last five
years and the current year; and
(e) whether the Government proposes to improve rail connectivity to
underserved districts of Tamil Nadu and enhance direct train services
from the State to major metropolitan cities including Delhi, Mumbai and
Bengaluru and if so, the details thereof?
ANSWER
MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, INFORMATION & BROADCASTING AND
ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
(SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW)
(a) to (e):
Railway Budget:-
Budget allocation in the recent years has increased significantly. Budget
allocation for infrastructure projects and safety works, falling fully/partly in
§ Page 1 of 13the State of Tamil Nadu is as under:
Period Outlay
2009-14 ₹879 crore/year
2025-26 ₹ 6,626 crore (more than 7.5 times)
Projects 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 Expenditure
sanctioned Length Commissioned upto Mar’ 25
projects (in km) upto Mar’25 (₹ in Cr.)
(in km)
New Line 9 812 24 1,337
Gauge Conversion 3 748 604 3,471
Doubling 3 140 37 2,783
/Multitracking
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. Cost
Project
N. (₹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
1,122
km)
Page 2 of 135 Mayiladuturai - Thiruvarur - Karaikkudi gauge
1,338
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) 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 -
1,122
Chengalpattu - 3rd line (133 km)
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 18
(1 km)
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 7 4 2
(43 km)
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 3 75
(23 km)
10 Tirupati – Pakala - Katpadi doubling (105 km) 1,332
Page 3 of 1311 Tindivanam – Gingee - Tiruvannamalai new 1,400
line (71 km)
12 Atipattu – Puttur new line (88 km) 1,700
13 Chennai – Cuddulore via Mahabalipuram new 2,670
line (179 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%)
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 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 92 45 47
(36 km)
4. Mannargudi-Pattukkottai new 196 0 196
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 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.
Page 4 of 13Government 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.
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.
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
In Tamil Nadu, 97% of BG network has been electrified and electrification
in remaining network has been taken up.
Page 5 of 13Train services:-
As the Railway network straddles across state boundaries, trains are
introduced, as per network requirement, across such boundaries. However,
on originating/terminating basis, Indian Railways have introduced 8 pairs
of Vande Bharat train services catering to the needs of various stations
located in the State of Tamil Nadu. These are listed below:
SN Train Number and Name
1 20627/20628 Chennai Egmore - Nagercoil Vande Bharat
Express
2 20665/20666 Chennai Egmore - Tirunelveli Vande Bharat
Express
3 20607/20608 Chennai Central - Mysuru Vande Bharat Express
4 20671/20672 Madurai- Bengaluru Cantonment Vande Bharat
Express
5 20641/20642 Bengaluru Cantonment – Coimbatore Vande
Bharat Express
6 20643/20644 Chennai Central - Coimbatore Vande Bharat
Express
7 20663/20664 Mysuru - Chennai Central Vande Bharat Express
8 20677/20678 Chennai Central - Narsapur Vande Bharat
Express
Further, during 01.04.2021 to 25.03.2026, following 34 pairs of new train
services (including 8 pairs of Vande Bharat train services and 8 pairs Amrit
Bharat), on originating/terminating basis, have also been introduced,
serving various stations located in the State of Tamil Nadu.
Sl. Train No. and Name
1 20609/20610 Tiruchchirappalli - New Jalpaiguri Amrit Bharat
Express
2 16121/16122 Tambaram - Trivandrum central Amrit Bharat
Page 6 of 13Express
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 16357/16358 Nagercoil - Charlapalli Amrit Bharat Express
7 16619/16620 Podanur - Dhanbad Amrit Bharat Express
8 16601/16602 Erode - Jogbani Amrit Bharat Express
9 20671/20672 Madurai - Bangalore Cantt. Vande Bharat Express
10 20627/20628 Chennai Egmore - Nagercoil Vande Bharat Express
11 20663/20664 Mysuru - MGR Chennai Central Vande Bharat Express
12 20641/20642 Bengaluru Cantt. - Coimbatore Vande Bharat Express
13 20665/20666 Chennai Egmore - Triunelenveli Vande Bharat
Express
14 20677/20678 MGR Chennai Central - Vijayawada Vande Bharat
Express
15 20643/20644 MGR Chennai Central Chennai-Coimbatore Vande
Bharat Express
16 20607/20608 MGR Chennai Central - Mysuru Vande Bharat Express
17 16363/16364 Ernakulam - Velankanni Express
18 16807/16808 Tambaram - Tiruchchirappalli Express
19 16621/16622 Rameswaram - Mangaluru Central Express
20 16707/16708 Mangaluru Jn - Tirunelveli Express
21 56835/56836 Mayiladuthurai - Karaikkudi Passenger
22 66623/66624 Palakkad - Pollachi MEMU
23 66621/66622 Salem - Erode MEMU
24 20625/20626 MGR Chennai Central - Bhagat Ki Kothi Express
25 16103/16104 Tambaram - Rameswaram Express
26 66563/66564 Yesvantpur- Hosur MEMU
27 16765/16766 Mettupalaiyam - Tuticorin Express
28 16367/16368 Kanniyakumari - Banaras Kashi Tamil Sangamam
Express
29 56113/56114 (Old no. 06421/06422) Coimbatore - Pollachi
Passenger
30 16361/16362 Ernakulam - Velankanni Express
31 20683/20684 Tambaram - Sengottai Express
32 76627/76628 Agastiampalli - Tiruturaipundi DEMU
33 76629/76630 Agastiampalli - Tiruturaipundi DEMU
Page 7 of 1334 56701/56702 (Old no. 06701/06702) Madurai - Teni Passenger
These services inter-alia provide additional connectivity to various cities
located in the State of Tamil Nadu.
Besides, introduction of train services, including Vande Bharat services, on
any route/section, which is an on-going process, depends on various factors
which include:
● Capacity of that section.
● Availability of path.
● Availability of required rolling stock.
● Availability of matching infrastructure for rolling stock.
● Maintenance requirement of railway tracks and other assets.
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
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
Page 8 of 13 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. Development / upgradation of railway station has a positive impact
on tourism in the surrounding areas.
So far, 1,338 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 77 Ambasamudram, Ambattur, Arakkonam Jn,
Nadu Ariyalur, Avadi, Bommidi, Chengalpattu Jn,
Chennai Beach, Chennai Egmore, Chennai
Park, Chidambaram, Chinna Salem,
Chrompet, Coimbatore Jn, Coimbatore
North, Coonoor, Dharmapuri, Dindigul, Erode
Page 9 of 13No. of
State Name of Stations
Stations
Jn., Guduvancheri, Guindy, Gummidipundi,
Hosur, Jolarpettai Jn, Kanniyakumari
Terminus, Karaikkudi Jn, KarurJn, Katpadi
Jn, Kovilpatti, Kulitturai, Kumbakonam,
Lalgudi, Madurai Jn, Mambalam, Manaparai,
Mannargudi, MayiladuturaiJn, 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.
Completed stations:
Development works at railway stations under Amrit Bharat Station
Scheme in Tamil Nadu have been taken up at a good pace. Till now,
works of 23 stations have been completed. The name of stations
Page 10 of 13completed in Tamil Nadu are as following:
No. of
State Name of stations
stations
Tamil 23 Bommidi, Chennai Park, Chidambaram, Chinna Salem,
Nadu Coonoor, Karaikkudi Jn, Kulitturai, Mambalam,
Manaparai, Mannargudi, Morappur, Namakkal,
Pollachi Jn, Polur, Samalpatti, Sholavandan,
Srirangam, Srivilliputtur, St. Thomas Mount,
Thiruvarur Jn., Tiruvannamalai, Udagamandalam,
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.
Page 11 of 13 Thanjavur Junction station: The works of portico, improvement of
concourse, platform shelter, 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.
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
Page 12 of 13zones, namely, Southern Railway and South Western Railway. For these
zones, an allocation of ₹ 5,575 crore (Revised Estimate) has been made for
the last four years and current year 2025-26, out of which an expenditure
of ₹ 5,054 crore (up to February, 2026) has been incurred so far.
*****
Page 13 of 13