Parliament Question: Rail Connectivity between Nandyal Region and Chennai

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1767 TO BE ANSWERED ON 29.07.2026 RAIL CONNECTIVITY BETWEEN NANDYAL REGION AND CHENNAI 1767. DR. BYREDDY SHABARI: Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state: (a) whether the Government has received representations seeking improved rail connectivity between Nandyal, Markapuram and adjoining regions of Andhra Pradesh with Chennai and if so, the details thereof; (b) whether the Government has examined the feasibility of introducing a direct train service connecting Chennai with Nandyal and nearby areas and if so, the details thereof; (c) whether ongoing capacity augmentation and doubling works in the region have enhanced the scope for introduction of new passenger services on this corridor and if so, the details thereof; and (d) the details of the steps taken or proposed to improve rail connectivity between the Nandyal region and Chennai? ANSWER MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, INFORMATION & BROADCASTING AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW) (a) to (d) Presently, both Nandyal & Markapur Road stations are connected to Vijayawada by 18 train services, which is further connected to Chennai by 158 train services. The lists of trains serving Nandyal-Markapur Road- Vijayawada sector & Vijayawada-Chennai sectors are as under:- Trains serving Nandyal-Markapur Road-Vijayawada sector: SN Train No. & Name 1 17211 Yesvantpur - Machilipatnam Express 2 17212 Machilipatnam-Yesvantpur Express § Page 1 of 143 17215 Dharmavaram - Machilipatnam Express 4 17216 Machilipatnam-Dharmavaram Express 5 17225 Hubballi - Narasapur Express 6 17226 Narasapur-Hubballi Express 7 17329 Hubballi - Vijayawada Express 8 17330 Vijayawada-HubballiExpress 9 18047 Vasco Da Gama-Shalimar Express 10 18048 Shalimar-Vasco Da Gama Express 11 18063 Yelahanka - Santragachi Express 12 18064 Santragachi-Yelahanka Express 13 18463 KSR Bengaluru-Bhubaneswar Express 14 18464 Bhubaneswar-KSR Bengaluru Express 15 22831 Yesvantpur -Howrah Express 16 22832 Howrah-Yesvantpur Express 17 22883 Yesvantpur-Puri Garib Rath Express 18 22884 Puri-Yesvantpur Garib Rath Express Trains serving Vijayawada-Chennai sector: SN Train No. & Name 1 20677 MGR Chennai Central-Narasapur Vande Bharat Express 2 20678 Narasapur-MGR Chennai Central Vande Bharat Express 3 16107 Tambaram-Santragachi Amrit Bharat Express 4 16108 Santragachi -Tambaram Amrit Bharat Express 5 16601 Erode -Jogbani Amrit Bharat Express 6 16602 Jogbani-Erode Amrit Bharat Express 7 20609 New Jalpaiguri-Tiruchchirappalli Amrit Bharat Express 8 20610 Tiruchchirappalli -New Jalpaiguri Amrit Bharat Express 9 16094 Lucknow -MGR Chennai Central Express Page 2 of 1410 12077 MGR Chennai Central-Vijayawada Jan Shatabdi Express 11 12078 Vijayawada -MGR Chennai Central Jan Shatabdi Express 12 12269 MGR Chennai Central-Hazrat Nizamuddin Duronto Express 13 12270 Hazrat Nizamuddin -MGR Chennai Central Duronto Express 14 12295 SMVT Bengaluru-Danapur Express 15 12296 Danapur-SMVT Bengaluru Express 16 12375 Tambaram-Jasidih Express 17 12376 Jasidih -Tambaram Express 18 12389 Gaya -MGR Chennai Central Express 19 12390 MGR Chennai Central-Gaya Express 20 12433 MGR Chennai Central-Hazrat Nizamuddin Rajdhani Express 21 12434 Hazrat Nizamuddin -MGR Chennai Central Rajdhani Express 22 12503 SMVT Bengaluru-Agartala Express 23 12504 Agartala-SMVT Bengaluru Express 24 12509 SMVT Bengaluru-Guwahati Express 25 12510 Guwahati-SMVT Bengaluru Express 26 12511 Gorakhpur -Thiruvananthapuram North Express 27 12512 Thiruvananthapuram North-Gorakhpur Express 28 12521 Barauni Junction-Ernakulam Express 29 12522 Ernakulam -Barauni Junction Express 30 12539 Yesvantpur -Lucknow Express 31 12540 Lucknow -Yesvantpur Express 32 12551 SMVT Bengaluru-Kamakhya Express 33 12552 Kamakhya-SMVT Bengaluru Express 34 12577 Darbhanga -Mysore Express 35 12578 Mysore -Darbhanga Express 36 12611 MGR Chennai Central-Hazrat Nizamuddin Garib Rath Express 37 12612 Hazrat Nizamuddin -MGR Chennai Central Garib Rath Express Page 3 of 1438 12615 MGR Chennai Central-New Delhi Express 39 12616 New Delhi-MGR Chennai Central Express 40 12621 MGR Chennai Central-New Delhi Express 41 12622 New Delhi-MGR Chennai Central Express 42 12641 Kanniyakumari-Hazrat Nizamuddin Express 43 12642 Hazrat Nizamuddin -Kanniyakumari Express 44 12651 Madurai -Hazrat Nizamuddin Express 45 12652 Hazrat Nizamuddin -Madurai Express 46 12655 Ahmedabad -MGR Chennai Central Express 47 12656 MGR Chennai Central-Ahmedabad Express 48 12663 Howrah -Tiruchchirappalli Express 49 12664 Tiruchchirappalli -Howrah Express 50 12665 Howrah -Kanniyakumari Express 51 12666 Kanniyakumari-Howrah Express 52 12669 MGR Chennai Central-Chhapra Express 53 12670 Chhapra-MGR Chennai Central Express 54 12711 Vijayawada -MGR Chennai Central Express 55 12712 MGR Chennai Central-Vijayawada Express 56 12759 Tambaram-Hyderabad Express 57 12760 Hyderabad-Tambaram Express 58 12839 Howrah -MGR Chennai Central Express 59 12840 MGR Chennai Central -Howrah Express 60 12841 Howrah -MGR Chennai Central Express 61 12842 MGR Chennai Central-Howrah Express 62 12851 Bilaspur -MGR Chennai Central Express 63 12852 MGR Chennai Central-Bilaspur Express 64 12967 MGR Chennai Central-Jaipur Express 65 12968 Jaipur -MGR Chennai Central Express Page 4 of 1466 12969 Coimbatore -Jaipur Express 67 12970 Jaipur -Coimbatore Express 68 13351 Dhanbad -Alappuzha Express 69 13352 Alappuzha-Dhanbad Express 70 15227 SMVT Bengaluru-Muzaffarpur Express 71 15228 Muzaffarpur -SMVT Bengaluru Express 72 15607 Thiruvananthapuram Central-Silchar Express 73 15608 Silchar-Thiruvananthapuram Central Express 74 15627 Coimbatore -Silchar Express 75 15628 Silchar-Coimbatore Express 76 15629 Tambaram-Silghat Town Express 77 15630 Silghat Town-Tambaram Express 78 15929 Tambaram-New Tinsukia Express 79 15930 New Tinsukia-Tambaram Express 80 16031 MGR Chennai Central-Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra Express 81 16032 Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra-MGR Chennai Central Express 82 16093 MGR Chennai Central-Lucknow Express 83 16223 SMVT Bengaluru-Radhikapur Express 84 16224 Radhikapur-SMVT Bengaluru Express 85 16367 Kanniyakumari-Banaras Express 86 16368 Banaras-Kanniyakumari Express 87 16523 SMVT Bengaluru-Balurghat Express 88 16524 Balurghat-SMVT Bengaluru Express 89 17643 Chengalpattu -Kakinada Port Express 90 17644 Kakinada Port-Chengalpattu Express 91 17655 Kakinada Port-Puducherry Express 92 17656 Puducherry-Kakinada Port Express 93 18041 Shalimar-MGR Chennai Central Express Page 5 of 1494 18042 MGR Chennai Central-Shalimar Express 95 18189 Tatanagar -Ernakulam Express 96 18190 Ernakulam -Tatanagar Express 97 20481 Jodhpur -Tiruchchirappalli Express 98 20482 Tiruchchirappalli -Jodhpur Express 99 20493 Madurai -Chandigarh Express 100 20494 Chandigarh-Madurai Express 101 20497 Rameswaram-Firozpur Cant Express 102 20498 Firozpur Cant-Rameswaram Express 103 20625 MGR Chennai Central-Bhagat Ki Kothi Express 104 20626 Bhagat Ki Kothi-MGR Chennai Central Express 105 20849 Bhubaneswar-Rameswaram Express 106 20850 Rameswaram-Bhubaneswar Express 107 20851 Bhubaneswar-Puducherry Express 108 20852 Puducherry-Bhubaneswar Express 109 20853 Bhubaneswar-MGR Chennai Central Express 110 20854 MGR Chennai Central-Bhubaneswar Express 111 22305 SMVT Bengaluru-Jasidih Express 112 22306 Jasidih -SMVT Bengaluru Express 113 22351 Saharsa -SMVT Bengaluru Express 114 22352 SMVT Bengaluru-Saharsa Express 115 22353 Patna -SMVT Bengaluru Express 116 22354 SMVT Bengaluru-Patna Express 117 22403 Puducherry-New Delhi Express 118 22404 New Delhi-Puducherry Express 119 22501 SMVT Bengaluru-New Tinsukia Express 120 22502 New Tinsukia-SMVT Bengaluru Express 121 22535 Rameswaram-Banaras Express Page 6 of 14122 22536 Banaras-Rameswaram Express 123 22603 Kharagpur -Villupuram Express 124 22604 Villupuram -Kharagpur Express 125 22605 Purulia -Tirunelveli Express 126 22606 Tirunelveli -Purulia Express 127 22611 MGR Chennai Central-New Jalpaiguri Express 128 22612 New Jalpaiguri-MGR Chennai Central Express 129 22613 Rameswaram-Ayodhya Cantt Express 130 22614 Ayodhya Cantt-Rameswaram Express 131 22631 Madurai -Bikaner Express 132 22632 Bikaner -Madurai Express 133 22641 Thiruvananthapuram Central-Shalimar Express 134 22642 Shalimar-Thiruvananthapuram Central Express 135 22643 Ernakulam -Patna Express 136 22644 Patna -Ernakulam Express 137 22645 Indore -Thiruvananthapuram North Express 138 22646 Thiruvananthapuram North-Indore Express 139 22647 Korba-Thiruvananthapuram North Express 140 22648 Thiruvananthapuram North-Korba Express 141 22663 Tambaram-Jodhpur Express 142 22664 Jodhpur -Tambaram Express 143 22669 Ernakulam -Patna Express 144 22670 Patna -Ernakulam Express 145 22673 Jodhpur -Mannargudi Express 146 22674 Mannargudi-Jodhpur Express 147 22801 Visakhapatnam-MGR Chennai Central Express 148 22802 MGR Chennai Central-Visakhapatnam Express 149 22807 Santragachi -MGR Chennai Central Express Page 7 of 14150 22808 MGR Chennai Central-Santragachi Express 151 22825 Shalimar-MGR Chennai Central Express 152 22826 MGR Chennai Central-Shalimar Express 153 22841 Santragachi -Tambaram Express 154 22842 Tambaram-Santragachi Express 155 22859 Puri-MGR Chennai Central Express 156 22860 MGR Chennai Central-Puri Express 157 22869 Visakhapatnam-MGR Chennai Central Express 158 22870 MGR Chennai Central-Visakhapatnam Express Nandyal is also connected to Yerraguntla by 10 trains (listed below), which is further connected to Chennai by 18 train services. Trains serving Nandyal- Yerraguntla sector: SN Train No. and Name 1 17215 Machilipatnam-Dharmavaram Express 2 17216 Dharmavaram-Machilipatnam Express 3 17261 Guntur-Tirupati Express 4 17262 Tirupati-Guntur Express 5 17441 Tirupati-Charlapalli Express 6 17442 Charlapalli-Tirupati Express 7 17443 Tirupati-Charlapalli Express 8 17444 Charlapalli-Tirupati Express 9 77211 Nandyal-Renigunta DMU 10 77212 Renigunta-Nandyal DMU Trains serving Yerraguntla-Chennai sector: SN Train No. and Name 1 11017 Lokmanya Tilak(T)-Karaikal Express 2 11018 Karaikal-Lokmanya Tilak(T) Express Page 8 of 143 12163 Lokmanya Tilak(T)-MGR Chennai Central Express 4 12164 MGR Chennai Central- Lokmanya Tilak(T) Express 5 16003 MGR Chennai Central-Nagarsol Express 6 16004 Nagarsol-MGR Chennai Central Express 7 17651 Chengalpattu-Kacheguda Express 8 17652 Kacheguda-Chengalpattu Express 9 17653 Kacheguda-Puducherry Express 10 17654 Puducherry-Kacheguda Express 11 20953 MGR Chennai Central-Ahmedabad Express 12 20954 Ahmedabad-MGR Chennai Central Express 13 22157 Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj (T)-Chennai Egmore Express 14 22158 Chennai Egmore-Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj (T) Express 15 22159 Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj (T)-MGR Chennai Central Express 16 22160 MGR Chennai Central-Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj (T) Express 17 22179 Lokmanya Tilak(T)-MGR Chennai Central Express 18 22180 MGR Chennai Central-Lokmanya Tilak(T) Express Proposals/ requests/ suggestions/ representations, both formal and informal inter alia for introduction/restoration 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. The receipt of such proposals/ requests/ suggestions is a continuous and dynamic process. These are examined and action as found feasible and justified is taken from time to time, which is an on-going process. Besides, introduction of new train services, 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 Page 9 of 14● Maintenance requirement of railway tracks and other assets. ● Occupancy and the traffic requirement of the section. Nandyal and Markapur Road are directly connected to Chennai through Yerraguntla Junction. To further improve the connectivity of this region, the works of Nadikude - Srikalahasti (309 km) New Line Project and Guntur – Guntakal Doubling (401 Km) have been sanctioned. Detailed status is as under: Nadikude - Srikalahasti (309 km) New Line project ● This line passes through Gundlakamma, which is an existing railway station on Guntur – Guntakal Section. ● The work of Nadikude - Srikalahasti (309 km) New Line project has been sanctioned on cost sharing basis with Govt. of Andhra Pradesh at cost of ₹3,407 Crore and land is to be provided by the State Government free of cost. An expenditure of ₹2,384 crore has been incurred on the project. ● Total 2258 Ha land is required for the project, out of which, 1330 Ha has been acquired by the State Government and 929 Ha land acquisition is balance. Work has been taken up on the available land. ● Details are as under: Section Status New Piduguralla to Savalyapuram (46 Km) Commissioned Gundlakamma to Kanigiri (79 Km) Commissioned Kanigiri to Venkatagiri (184 Km) Land acquisition has been taken up by State Govt. Guntur – Guntakal (401 Km) Doubling ● Guntur – Guntakal (401 Km) Doubling Project has been sanctioned at a cost of ₹4,692 Crore. Page 10 of 14● Details are as under: Section Status Guntur to Diguvametta (215 Km) Commissioned Guntakal to Nandyal (144 Km) Commissioned Nandyal to Gazulapally(15 Km) All Works of Earthwork, Bridges etc completed. Track Linking has been taken up Gazulapally to Diguvametta (27 Km) There are two tunnels in this sections. One tunnel has been completed and works taken up in the second tunnel Construction of Earth work, bridges etc have been taken up Railway Budget: Budget allocation in the recent years has increased significantly. Budget allocation for infrastructure projects and safety works, falling fully/partly in the State of Andhra Pradesh is as under: Period Outlay 2009-2014 ₹886 Cr./year 2026-2027 ₹10,134 Cr. (more than 11 times) Track Construction: The details of commissioning/laying of new track falling fully/partly in the State of Andhra Pradesh during 2009-14 and 2014-26 is as under: Period New Track Average Commissioning of new Commissioned tracks 2009-14 363 Km 73 Km per year 2014-26 1,759 Km 147 Km per year (2 times) Page 11 of 14Projects Sanctioned: As on 01.04.2026, 42 projects (12 New Line and 30 Doubling), covering a total length of 4,768 Km length, costing ₹77,855 crore, falling fully/partly in Andhra Pradesh, have been sanctioned. The summary is as under: Category No. of Total Length Total Exp. upto projects Length Commissioned March, 2026 (Rs. (Km) till March, 2026 in Cr.) (in Km) 12 1595 235 7,074 New Line 30 3174 1230 20,077 Multi- tracking/Doubling 42 4,768 1,465 27,851 Total Recently Completed Projects: Details of some of the recently completed projects falling fully/partly in the State of Andhra Pradesh are as under: S.No. Name of Project Cost (Rs. in cr.) 1 Nandyal-Yerraguntla New line (126 Km) 1,050 2 Jaggayyapeta-Janpahad New line (48 Km) 737 3 Obulavaripalle-Krishnapattnam New line (113 Km) 2,300 4 Vizianagaram-Kottavalsa 3rd Line (35 Km) 285 5 Raichur-Guntakal Doubling (81 Km) 388 6 Guntur-Tenali Doubling (24 Km) 205 7 Guntakal-Kalluru Doubling (41 Km) 410 8 Motumari-Byepass with overhead alignment (2 Km) 39 9 Yelahanka-Penukonda Doubling (123 Km) 1,104 10 Vijaywada-Narsapur, Gudivada-Machlipatnam & 4,688 Bhimavaram-Nidadavolu Doubling with electrification (221 km) 11 Gooty-Dharmavaram Doubling (90 Km) 1,800 12 Penukonda-Dharmavaram Doubling (42 Km) 308 Page 12 of 14Ongoing Projects: Some of the major projects falling fully/partly in the State of Andhra Pradesh which have been taken up are as under: S.No. Name of Project Cost (Cr.) 1 Kotipalli-Narsapur New Line (57 Km) 2,120 2 Nadikude-Srikalahasti New Line (309 Km) 3,407 3 Rayadurg-Tumkur New Line (207 Km) 4,565 4 Malugur – Palasamudram New Line (18 Km) 342 5 Malkangiri-Bhadrachalam-Pandurangapuram 3,592 New Line (174 Km) 6 Errupalem-Amravati-Namburu New Line (57 Km) 2,047 7 Vizianagram-Titlagarh 3rd line (265 Km) 6,996 8 Nergundi – Barang, Khurda Road – Vizianagaram 4,963 3rd line (385 Km) 9 Kottavalasa-Koraput Doubling (189 Km) 3,580 10 Kazipet-Vijaywada 3rd line (220 km) 3,315 11 Vijaywada- Gudur 3rd line (287 Km) 6,509 12 Guntakal - Guntur Doubling(401 Km) 4,692 13 Guntur - Bibinagar Doubling (239 Km) 2,853 14 Mudkhed – Medchal, Mahbubnagar - Dhone 4,686 Doubling (417 Km) 15 Motumari-Vishnupuram Doubling (89 Km) 1,596 16 Gudur-Renigunta 3rd Line(83 Km) 877 17 Tirupati-Katpadi Doubling (104 Km) 1,216 18 Rajahmundry- Visakhapatnam 3rd& 4th line (198 9,889 Km) 19 Guntakal-Wadi 3rd& 4th line (230 Km) 4,758 Page 13 of 14Completion of Railway project/s depends on various factors which include the following: · Land acquisition · 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 14 of 14