CHENNAI: In a surprising development, Union Minister for Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw on Friday said the construction of 143.5-km-long broad gauge (BG) railway line from Madurai to Thoothukudi via Aruppukottai, at a cost of Rs 2,054 crore, has been shelved as the Tamil Nadu government did not want the project.
To a specific question from TNIE on whether the project has been dropped, the minister, who was visiting the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) in Chennai, said, “The Tamil Nadu government has informed us in writing that it does not want the project.”
The minister, however, did not elaborate on why the state did not want the project.
The minister was asked the question by pointing to the state government disbanding the land acquisition (LA) unit in Madurai, set up specifically for acquiring land for the project, from January 1. Revenue officials assigned to the unit have also been transferred out. While the railways funds the entire project, including compensation paid for land acquisition, it is the responsibility of the state government to acquire the land and hand it over to the railways.
The project work, announced in 2011-12, was started by the Southern Railway in 2016 and only around 14% of the work has been completed so far. A sum of Rs 324 crore has already been spent.
‘Rly minister’s reason for cancelling proj shocking’
Of the 143.5 km, 18km of track between Milavittan and Melmarudur was completed and cleared for operation in March 2022. Land acquisition for the uncompleted section, from Melmarudur to Thiruparankundram, has been progressing slowly, with only around 35%-40% of the required land acquired so far.
The project aimed to provide train connectivity to underserved areas in Virudhunagar and Thoothukudi districts such as Aruppukottai, Vilathikulam, Pudur and Nagalapuram. Importantly, it was also aimed at facilitating freight transport from Thoothukudi Port to other parts of the country. The existing Madurai-Thoothukudi railway line runs via Vanchi Maniyachi and Kovilpatti.
Interestingly, in August last year, Chief Minister M K Stalin wrote to the union railway minister, demanding adequate funding for several projects, including the Madurai-Thoothukudi line, following a reduction in union government’s budgetary allocation for new railway line projects in Tamil Nadu. In the 2024-25 interim budget, the centre had allocated Rs 100 crore for the project, but this was reduced to Rs 18.72 crore in the subsequent general budget.
The minister’s remark has some as a surprise, especially since DMK deputy general secretary and Thoothukudi MP Kanimozhi has consistently advocated for expediting the project.
Reacting to Vaishnaw’s remarks as reported by TNIE, Virudhunagar MP from Congress Manickam Tagore, in a post on social media platform X, said it was shocking to see the minister blaming the DMK government for cancelling the project, vital for southern Tamil Nadu’s development. Alleging this reflected the centre’s lack of commitment to regional growth, he asked, “Why halt progress for political blame game?”
A spokesperson of Southern Railway told TNIE that they are awaiting further details from the Railway Board regarding the project’s discontinuation. State government officials could not be reached for comments on Friday.