Parliament Question: Status of the Angamaly Sabari Railway Line

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 681 TO BE ANSWERED ON 22.07.2026 STATUS OF THE ANGAMALY SABARI RAILWAY LINE 681. ADV DEAN KURIAKOSE: Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state: (a) the current status of the Angamaly Sabari railway line; (b) the details of the estimated updated cost of the project as on date; (c) whether the Kerala State Government of Kerala has to enter into a tripartite agreement with the Railway Ministry as well as the RBI for the implementation of the project; and (d) if so, the details thereof? ANSWER MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, INFORMATION & BROADCASTING AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW) (a) to (d): Angamali - Sabarimala via Erumeli new line project was sanctioned in 1997-98. Work on Angamali-Kaladi (7 Km) and long lead works on Kaladi-Perumbavoor (10 Km) was taken up. However, further works on this project could not be taken forward due to protests by people against land acquisition and fixing of alignment of the line, court cases filed against the project and inadequate support from the Government of Keralam. Therefore, the project could not proceed ahead. § Page 1 of 5The estimated cost of the Angamali - Sabarimala via Erumeli new line project was updated at ₹3,801 crore and submitted to Government of Keralam for the acceptance of the estimate and willingness to share cost of the project. In August 2024, the Government of Keralam communicated their conditional consent. Government of Keralam was requested by Railway to submit unconditional consent for sharing the cost. Then the Minister of Railways requested the Chief Minister of Keralam to acquire land using their share of 50% of the cost of the project. Now, on the request of Govt. of India, the Govt. of Keralam has initiated land acquisition proceedings and the Angamali – Sabarimala new line project has moved forward. Ministry of Railways is following up the land acquisition process with Govt. of Keralam. During 2026-27, an outlay of ₹505 crore has been provided for this project by Ministry of Railways. 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 2026-27 ₹3,795 crore (more than 10 times) Page 2 of 5Projects Sanctioned:- As on 01.04.2026, 09 projects (03 new line and 06 doubling) of 302 km length, costing ₹11,650 crore falling fully/partly in Keralam are sanctioned. The summary is as under:- Category No. of Total Length Total Expenditure projects Length Commissioned upto March, 2026 (in Km) upto March, 2026 (₹ in Cr.) (in Km) New line 03 148 0 317 Doubling 06 154 40 3,550 /multitracking Total 09 302 40 3,867 Recently Completed Projects:- Details of some of the recently completed projects falling fully/partly in the State of Keralam are as under: S. Project Cost No. (₹ in Crores) 1 Dindigul - Palghat & Pollachi - Coimbatore gauge 1,360 conversion (217 km) 2 Quilon- Tiruchendur gauge conversion (357 km) 1,122 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 Ongoing Projects:- Some of the projects falling fully/partly in the State of Keralam which have been taken up are as under: Page 3 of 5S No. Project Cost (₹ in Crores) 1 Tirunnavaya –Guruvayur new line (35 km) 144 2 Angamali-Sabarimala new line (111 km) 3,801 3 Ernakulam-Kumbalam doubling (8 km) 808 4 Kumbalam - Thuravur doubling (16 km) 1,172 5 Trivandrum- Kanyakumari doubling (87 km) 4,494 6 Alappuzha-Ambalapuzha doubling (13 km) 324 7 Turavur - Mararikulam doubling (21 km) 451 8 Mararikulam-Alappuzha doubling (11 km) 221 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 618 ha Land Acquired 78 ha (13%) Balance Land to be acquired 540 ha (87%) Railway had deposited ₹1,976 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 304 25 279 (111 km) 2. Ernakulam – Kumbalam Patch 4 3 1 doubling (8 km) Page 4 of 53. Kumbalam – Turavur Patch doubling 10 9 1 (16 km) 4. Shoranur-Vallathol doubling (10 Km) 5 0 5 Government of India is geared up to execute projects, however success depends upon the support of Government of Keralam. 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. ***** Page 5 of 5