Parliament Question: Status of Chengannur Railway Station Redevelopment under ABSS

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4431 TO BE ANSWERED ON 20.08.2025 STATUS OF CHENGANNUR RAILWAY STATION REDEVELOPMENT UNDER ABSS

4431. SHRI KODIKUNNIL SURESH:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

(a) the current status of the Chengannur railway station redevelopment under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme;

(b) whether tenders have been issued and physical works begun under the said scheme and if so, the details thereof;

(c) the total fund sanctioned for the said project and the roles of Central, State and Railway authorities in funding and executing the works;

(d) the planned scope of works under Phase-I and Phase-II such as terminal building upgrades, pilgrim centre, lifts, escalators, skywalk, STP, parking and other passenger amenities along with their estimated timelines;

(e) the status of connectivity improvements (road, pedestrian, last- mile) to the station; and

(f) the expected completion dates for each phase along with the total project outlay? ANSWER MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, INFORMATION & BROADCASTING AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW)

(a) to (f): Chengannur railway station have been identified for development under Amrit Bharat Station Scheme. The redevelopmentwork of Chengannur railway station has been sanctioned at a cost of Rs. 98.46 crores by Ministry of Railways.

The master plan of the Chengannur railway station envisages construction of new terminal building, pilgrim shelter, foot over bridge, 12 m wide roof plaza, platform upgradation including platform shelter, improvement to circulating area and parking space etc. The tendering process for the redevelopment of Chengannur railway station has been taken up.

In recent years, improvements to pay and use toilets in circulating area, improvements to AC waiting hall as well as retiring rooms and replacement of damaged platform shelter roofing have been executed at Chengannur railway station.

35 stations have been identified for development under Amrit Bharat Station Scheme in the State of Kerala. List of the stations is given

below:

State No. of Amrit Names of Amrit Stations Stations Kerala 35 Alappuzha , Angadippuram, Angamali For Kaladi, Chalakudi, Changanassery, Chengannur, Chirayinkeezh, Ernakulam, Ernakulam Town, Ettumanur, Ferok, Guruvayur , Kannur, Kasargod, Kayankulam Jn, Kollam Jn, Kozhikode, Kuttippuram, Mavelikara, Neyyattinkara , Nilambur Road, Ottappalam, Parappanangadi, Payyanur, Punalur, Shoranur Jn., Thalassery, Thiruvananthapuram Central, Thrisur, Tirur, Tiruvalla, Tripunithura, Vadakara, VarkalaShivagiri, WadakancheriPresently Phase-I work of 2 stations viz. Chirayinkeezh and Vadakara, have been completed.

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 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. Chengannur railway station falls under the jurisdiction of Southern Railway for which a total allocation of Rs 1122 crores (Budget Estimate) has been made for the financial year 2025-26 under Plan Head-53.

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/redevelopment/upgradation/modernisation of stations is accorded to higher category of station over lower category of station while sanctioning and executing the works.

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 phasing of the station redevelopment project depends on several factors like requirement, level of existing infrastructure, changes in station footfall, development of adjoining areas and their interaction with the station, changes in complementary mode of transport, availability of funds, inter-se priority etc. This is a gradually evolving process depending upon a numbers of variables and no time frame can be indicated at this stage for the same.

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