Parliament Question: Railway Development Work in Kollam

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 634 TO BE ANSWERED ON 23.07.2025 RAILWAY DEVELOPMENT WORK IN KOLLAM 634. SHRI N K PREMACHANDRAN: Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state: (a) whether the Government proposes to complete the Railway Development works in a time bound manner, if so the action taken thereon; (b) the present status of Railway Development work in Kollam Railway Station and proposed date of its completion; (c) the details of the action taken for preservation of Chinese Palace in Kollam Railway Station; (d) the details of the action taken for the construction of Kundara – Pallimukku ROB and the proposed date of its completion; (e) whether the Government proposes to include the construction of the said ROB in the special scheme of Railways for funding 100% cost by the Railways; (f) if so, the action taken thereon; and (g) the details of action taken by the Government for timely completion of ROBs in Kollam Lok sabha Constituency? ANSWER MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, INFORMATION & BROADCASTING AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW) (a) to (g): Ministry of Railways has launched Amrit Bharat Station Scheme for redevelopment of stations. So far, 1337 stations have been identified for development under Amrit Bharat Station Scheme.Presently Phase-I work of 105 stations have been completed and commissioned and works have been taken up at 1110 stations. Further, 35 stations located in state of Kerala including Kollam railway stations have been identified for development under Amrit Bharat Station Scheme. Out of these 35 stations, the development works have been taken up on 33 stations. The works have been taken up at a good pace. The progress at some of these stations is as given below: At Kollam station, the work of service building, substation, Multi level car parking and structural work of parcel building, south terminal segment I (Block A & B) have been completed. The work for structural work of south terminal segment I (block C), south terminal segment II, foot over bridge, air concourse and platform shelter works have been taken up. At Punalur station, works of provision of lifts, new platform shelter, passenger information system, train indication boards, coach indication boards have been completed and the works of improvements in circulating area and parking area, station elevation including portico, separate pedestrian pathway and construction of new waiting hall have been taken up. At Ernakulam Town, the Structural work of West Terminal building – Segment 1 and residential tower is completed and block work and plastering works have been taken up. The foundation work for the foot over bridge gangway has been completed. The 6th floor slab work, block work and plastering work of Multi level car parking have been taken up.The Amrit Bharat Station scheme envisages development of stations on a continuous basis with a long-term approach. It involves preparation of master plans and their implementation in phases to improve the amenities at the stations like improvement of station access, circulating areas, waiting halls, toilets, lift/escalators as necessary, platform surfacing and cover over platform, cleanliness, free Wi-Fi, kiosks for local products through schemes like ‘One Station One Product’, better passenger information systems, executive lounges, nominated spaces for business meetings, landscaping, etc. keeping in view the necessity at each station. The scheme also envisages improvement of building, integrating the station with both sides of the city, multimodal integration, amenities for Divyangjans, 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 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/upgradation of stations is accorded to higher category of station over lower category of station while sanctioning and executing the works. Development / upgradation of stations including under Amrit Bharat Station Scheme is generally funded under Plan Head-53 ‘Customer Amenities’. The details of allocation under Plan Head-53 are maintained Zonal Railway-wise and not work-wise or station-wise or State-wise. Kollam railway station falls under the jurisdiction of Southern Railways for which a total allocation of Rs 1122 crores (Budget Estimate) has been made for the financial year 2025-26 under Plan Head-53.Further, development/redevelopment/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 brown field related challenges such as shifting of utilities, (involving water/sewage lines, optical fiber 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 high voltage power lines etc. and these factors affect the completion time. Therefore, no time frame can be indicated at this stage. The work for construction of Road Over Bridge (ROB) at Kundara - Pallimukku in lieu of LC No.526 at Km.748/1-2 in between Ezhukone- Kundara stations in Kollam- Sengottai section of Madurai division was sanctioned at the cost Rs.37.24 crore in the year 2012-13 on cost sharing basis. This work is being executed on dual entity basis i.e. Railway portion by railway and approaches portion by State Govt. i.e. Roads and Bridges Development Corporation of Kerala Limited (RBDCK). Land Acquisition is yet to be done by State Govt. The General Arrangement Drawing (GAD) has been approved. Sanctioning and execution of works of Road Over Bridges/ Road Under Bridges (ROBs/RUBs) in lieu of LCs is a continuous and ongoing process on Indian Railways. Such works are prioritized and taken up on the basis of its impact on safety and mobility in train operations and impact on road users.No. of ROBs/RUBs constructed on Indian Railways during the period 2004-14 vis-a-vis 2014-26 (upto June’25) is as under: Period ROBs/RUBs constructed 2004-14 4148 2014-26 (upto June’25) 13426 (including 118 Nos. in the state of Kerala) As on dt. 01.04.2025, 4402 Nos. ROBs/ RUBs are sanctioned at the cost of Rs. 100860 crore on Indian Railways including 140 Nos. Road Over Bridges / Road Under Bridges at the cost of Rs. 4837 crore in the State of Kerala, which are at various stages of planning and execution. Out of which, 49 Nos. ROBs works in the state of Kerala are held up due to delay in land acquisition Presently, 13 nos. ROBs/FOB with ramp are sanctioned in Kollam Parliamentary constituency which are at various stages of planning and execution. Completion and commissioning of ROB/RUB works depend on various factors like cooperation of State Governments in giving consent for closure of LCs, fixing of approach alignment, approval of General Arrangement Drawing (GAD), land acquisition, removal of encroachments, shifting of infringing utilities, statutory clearances from various authorities, law and order situation in the area of project/work sites, duration of working season in a year for the particular project/area due to climatic conditions etc. All these factors affect the completion time of the projects / works. *****