Parliament Question: Rail Connectivity to Wayanad

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4161 TO BE ANSWERED ON 18.03.2026 RAIL CONNECTIVITY TO WAYANAD 4161. SMT. PRIYANKA GANDHI VADRA: Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state: (a) whether the Government is considering proposals to improve inter and intra State rail connectivity to Wayanad Lok Sabha Constituency and if so, the details thereof; (b) whether the Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the Nanjangud-Nilambur railway line has been finalized and if so, the details thereof including the timeline for submission; (c) the details of railway overbridges and underpasses sanctioned to replace level crossings in Wayanad Lok Sabha Constituency including the current progress; and (d) whether the Government proposes to introduce special tourist trains to promote the unique heritage of Wayanad Lok Sabha Constituency and if so, the details thereof? ANSWER MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, INFORMATION & BROADCASTING AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW) (a) to (d): Wayanad district is already connected with railway network and served by Nilambur Road Station which is catered by the following 16 train services: SN Train No. and Name 1 16325 Nilambur Road - Kottayam Express ...2/- §-2- 2 16326 Kottayam - Nilambur Road Express 3 16349 Thiruvananthapuram North - Nilambur Road Express 4 16350 Nilambur Road - Thiruvananthapuram North Express 5 56322 Nilambur Road - Shoranur Passenger 6 56323 Shoranur - Nilambur Road Passenger 7 56607 Palakkad - Nilambur Road Passenger 8 56608 Nilambur Road - Palakkad Passenger 9 56609 Shoranur - Nilambur Road Passenger 10 56610 Nilambur Road - Shoranur Passenger 11 56611 Shoranur - Nilambur Road Passenger 12 56612 Nilambur Road - Shoranur Passenger 13 56613 Shoranur - Nilambur Road Passenger 14 56614 Nilambur Road - Shoranur Passenger 15 66325 Nilambur Road - Shoranur Passenger 16 66326 Shoranur - Nilambur Road Passenger For providing connectivity of Nilambur road station with Karnataka, the Survey of Nilambur-Nanjangud new line was carried out in 2007-08 but project could not be taken forward due to low traffic projections. However, on public demand, a fresh Final Location Survey (FLS) for Nilambur-Nanjangud new line project (236 Km) has been sanctioned for preparation of Detailed Project Report (DPR). The field survey has been completed. ...3/--3- After preparation 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. Keralam :- 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 Keralam is as under:- Period Outlay 2009-14 ₹ 372 crore/year 2025-26 ₹3,042 crore (more than 8 times) Recently Completed Projects:- Details of some of the recently completed projects falling fully/partly in Keralam are as under : S. Cost Project N (₹ in Crores) 1 Dindigul - Pollachi - Palghat & Pollachi - Coimbatore 1,360 gauge conversion (217 km) 2 Quilon – Tirunelveli - Tiruchendur gauge conversion 1,122 (357 km) 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 ...4/--4- Ongoing Projects:- Some of the projects falling fully/partly in Keralam which have been taken up are as under: Cost S No. Project (₹ 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 8 0 3 (16 km) 5 Trivandrum- Kanyakumari doubling (87 km) 3,786 6 Shoranur - Vallathol doubling (10 km) 367 7 Palakkad Town to Parli Bypass Line 1 6 4 (2 Km) 8 Alappuzha-Ambalapuzha doubling (13 Km) 324 9 Turavur – Mararikulam doubling (21 Km) 451 Project 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 Keralam 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 2,941 04 120 km 26 km 94 km /multitracking Total 06 266 km 26 km 240 km 3,250 ...5/--5- Zonal Railway wise details of Railway projects are made available in public domain on Indian Railway’s website. 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 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 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 416 24 392 (111 km) 2. Ernakulam – Kumbalam Patch 4 3 1 doubling (8 km) 3. Kumbalam – Turavur Patch doubling 10 9 1 (16 km) 4. Shoranur - Vallathol doubling 5 0 5 (10 km) Government of India is geared up to execute projects, however success depends upon the support of Government of Keralam. ...6/--6- 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. ROBs/ RUBs:- Sanctioning of works of Road over Bridge (ROB)/Road under Bridge (RUB) in lieu of Level crossings (LCs) is a continuous and dynamic process of Indian ...7/--7- Railway. Such works are prioritised and taken up on the basis of its impact on safety in train operations, mobility of trains & impact for road users and feasibility etc. No. of ROBs/ RUBs constructed 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. 2014-25 (Upto 14,024 Nos. (including 121 Nos. in the State Jan’26) of Keralam) As on 01.02.2026, 4,802 Nos. ROBs/ RUBs are sanctioned at cost of ₹ 1,14,196 Cr on Indian Railways including 138 Nos. Road Over Bridge (ROB)/Road Under Bridge (RUB) are sanctioned at cost of ₹ 4,835 Cr in Keralam which are at various stages of planning and execution. 01 No. Level Crossing (LC No. 10) exists in Wayanad Lok Sabha Parliamentary and the work for construction of ROB has been sanctioned at this location. General Arrangement Drawing (GAD) has been approved. 106 Nos. ROBs/RUBs are delayed on account of the State Govt. The details are as under: S.No. Reason ROBs/RUBs (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 ...8/--8- Completion of any ROB/RUB work depends on various factors like, fixing of approach alignment, approval of General Arrangement Drawing (GAD), land acquisition, removal of encroachment, shifting of infringing utilities, statutory clearances from various authorities, law and order situation in the area of project / work sites, number of working months in a year for particular project / work sites due to climatic conditions etc. All these factors affect the completion time of the projects / works. Further, Railways have taken following measures to expedite the progress of work: i. Joint survey with concerned State Govt./Road Owning Authority is done before finalizing the General Arrangement Drawing (GAD) to ensure smooth execution. ii. Periodic meetings of Railway & State Government officials are done to resolve various issues related to ROB/RUB works. iii. Standardization of superstructure drawings for various combinations of span, skewness and width of road on Railway portion has been done to avoid delays during the design approval. This has been issued in the form of compendium, which can be directly adopted for Road Over Bridge across Railway lines for expeditious planning. Tourism:- Indian Railways have issued ‘Bharat Gaurav Trains’ policy in November’ 2021, under which theme based tourist circuit trains are being run with the objective to showcase Indian’s rich cultural heritage and magnificent historical places to the people of India and the world. As per this policy, ...9/--9- service providers have full flexibility to decide the themes/itineraries for operation of Bharat Gaurav tourist circuit trains, which may include tourist circuits of any part of India including Wayanad, based on market demand, commercial viability etc. *****