Parliament Question: Redevelopment of Tirunelveli Junction Railway Station

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 6034 TO BE ANSWERED ON 01.04.2026 REDEVELOPMENT OF TIRUNELVELI JUNCTION RAILWAY STATION 6034. SHRI ROBERT BRUCE C: Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state: (a) whether the Government is aware of the fact that the redevelopment of Tirunelveli Junction Railway Station was announced originally at an outlay of Rs. 270 crores which was reduced to Rs. 99 crores which was further curtailed to Rs. 77 Crore and if so, the details thereof; (b) the details of the reasons of such lopsided and reduced allocation of funds; and (c) the details of such other railway stations for which the final expenditure was less than the originally announced outlay and if so, the details thereof? ANSWER MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, INFORMATION & BROADCASTING AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW) (a) to (c): Tirunelveli Junction railway station has been identified for redevelopment under Amrit Bharat Station Scheme. At Tirunelveli Railway station, the works for improvement of platform surface, concourse area flooring, construction of platform shelters, provision of pay & use toilets, quick watering system for coaches at platform, provision of recycling plant, station building lighting and provision of water cubicles have been completed in recent years. The works for construction of new platform no. 6 has been taken up. § Page 1 of 6The redevelopment work of Tirunelveli junction railway station has been sanctioned under Amrit Bharat Station scheme. The redevelopment work of Tirunelveli station envisage east and west terminal buildings, spacious foot over bridge, up-gradation of platforms, parcel office, RMS office, circulating area and surface parking etc. The works of soil investigation and construction of site office have been taken up. The Amrit Bharat Station scheme envisages development of stations on a continuous basis with a long-term approach. The scheme involves preparation of master plans and their implementation in phases to improve the stations. The master planning, keeping in view the necessity at each station 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. Page 2 of 6The 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. 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. Development / redevelopment / upgradation / modernisation of a station is carried out based on category of station/condition/traffic handled etc. 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 is as following: No. of State Name of Stations Stations Tamil Nadu 77 Ambasamudram, Ambattur, ArakkonamJn, Ariyalur, Avadi, Bommidi, Chengalpattu Jn, Chennai Beach, Chennai Egmore, Chennai Park, Chidambaram, Chinna Salem, Chrompet, Coimbatore Jn, Coimbatore North, Coonoor, Dharmapuri, Dindigul, Erode Jn., Guduvancheri, Guindy, Gummidipundi, Hosur, JolarpettaiJn, Kanniyakumari Terminus, KaraikkudiJn, KarurJn, KatpadiJn, Kovilpatti, Kulitturai, Kumbakonam, Lalgudi, Madurai Jn, Mambalam, Page 3 of 6No. of State Name of Stations Stations 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 (Bommidi, Chennai Park, Chidambaram, Chinna Salem, 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.) in Tamil Nadu have been completed under this scheme. Page 4 of 6The 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.  Karur Junction station: The works of improvement of station building, main entrance arch, AC waiting hall, toilet at platform no. 1, 2/3 & 4/5, circulating area and parking have been completed. The works of lift, escalator and 12 m Foot Over Bridge have been taken up.  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. Page 5 of 6Development / 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 station-wise or State-wise. Tirunelveli railway station falls under the jurisdiction of Southern Railway for which a total allocation of Rs. 1125.48 crores (Revised 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. ***** Page 6 of 6