NEW DELHI: Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Monday chaired a meeting with MPs from Keralam and shared details of works in railway going on in the state.
The Railway minister that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had increased the railway allocation for the state tenfold to Rs 3,795 crore for the financial year 2026-27, compared with the Rs 372 crore that Keralam used to receive for railway development before 2024. He said the increased investment under the leadership of PM Modi had started translating into substantial work on the ground.
“Over the last 12 years, Keralam has seen 100% electrification of its railway network, completion of doubling ‘gauge-conversion projects, 131 flyovers and underpasses, and redevelopment fo 16 stations under the Amrit Bharat Station scheme”, the Railway Minister shared at the meeting.
Highlighting the major push for railway and infrastructure developments in Keralam, he said the momentum of railway works in the state, as in other states, continued, with projects worth more than Rs 20,000 crore currently under execution. These include 9 multitracking and new-line projects, 145 flyovers and underpasses and 19 station redevelopment projects.
Reflecting the Modi government's commitment to development, he informed the MPs that the focus was on building greater capacity and enabling smoother and more efficient railway operations across Keralam.
The Railway Minister, citing data and figures on the works, added that since 2014, 6 major doubling and gauge-conversion projects had been completed in Keralam, covering 670 km at a total cost of Rs 4,316 crore. “A significant step forward in strengthening railway capacity and connectivity across the Keralam”, he remarked, adding that Ambalapuzha-Haripad doubling of 18 km at a cost of Rs 346crore, Chenaganur-Chingavanam doubling covering a distance of 27 km at Rs 436 crore, Kurruppanthara-Chingavanam doubling covering a rail stretch of 27 km at Rs 749 crore, and the gauge conversion of Quilon-Tiruchendur gauge covering a distance of 357 kms at Rs 1,122 crore were among the other projects completed since 201.
The Railway Minister also shared details with the Keralam MPs about the next phase of railway development in the state, with several major projects already sanctioned to strengthen rail capacity, connectivity and network expansion. He shared details of projects being taken up, including the Angamali-Sabrimmala new line (116km) at Rs 3,801 crore, Ernakulum-Kumbalam doubling (8 km), Trivandrum-Kanyakumari doubling (87 km) and other projects. Besides these, Vaishnaw said work was also being taken up to address capacity constraints and prepare Keralam's rail network for future growth.
“145 ROBs and RUBs are under construction at a cost of Rs 4,786 crore including 136 ROBs and 8 RUBs and 1 Pedestrian subway. Of these 52 ROBs/RUBs are delayed due to land acquisition, finalisation of alignment and non-engagement of agency”, he said, adding that 34 railway projects for ROBs and RUBs were delayed solely due to land acquisition.
He also discussed the progress of survey work under way for the preparation of detailed project reports covering more than 800 km of third and fourth-line augmentation across six regions in Keralam. These include Mangaluru-Shoranur of 307 kms and Shoranur-Ernakulam-106 km, as well as the Kanyakulam-Thiruvananthapuram rail line, covering a distance of 105 km, among other projects.
At the meeting, the Railway Minister also discussed land acquisition, which has been delaying projects on the ground. “Land acquisition remains an important factor in the progress of several railway projects in Keralam. Total land required for railway is 618 hectares and land acquired so far is 78 hecatrs-13% go total and balance land to be acquired is 540 hectares(87%) in Keralam”, he said in a post after the meeting.
The Railway minister further added that the Railways had already deposited Rs 1,976 crore with the government of Keralam for land acquisition. Projects currently delayed due to pending land acquisition include the Angamali-Sabrimmala new line of 111 km, for which 25 hectares of land had been acquired, while the remaining 279 hectares were pending. In this way, just because of delays in land acquisition, three other rail projects were delayed in Keralam.
Speaking about passenger connectivity, the Railway Minister said that 6 Vande Bharat Express services were currently operational, connecting Keralam with Mangaluru, Kasargod, Thiruvananthapuram and Bengaluru. He claimed that passenger connectivity in Keralam had also expanded under the leadership of PM Narendra Modi. He added that 6 Amrit Bharat Express services were also currently operational in addition to the Vande Bharat services, with the focus of the Railways in Keralam being on strengthening regional connectivity.
“In the last 5 years, more than 180 new stoppages have also been granted, while 22 new train services have been introduced in the last 2 years. “We discussed the operational issues in Mangaluru. The Mangaluru railway area was divided into three different zones, which was creating serious operational problems. The decision to keep Mangaluru in SWR will solve the operational problems”, the Railway Minister said.
The Mangaluru railway area now serves 3 different railways, namely Southern Railway, Southern Western Railway and Konkan Railway Corporation Limited.