29 Rail Surveys Covering 2,501 km Sanctioned in Four Years Across Tamil Nadu Including 6 New Lines and 23 Doubling Projects
29 Rail Surveys Covering 2,501 km Sanctioned in Four Years Across Tamil Nadu Including 6 New Lines and 23 Doubling Projects
Details of some of the recently completed projects falling fully/partly in Tamil Nadu are as under :
S.N.
Project
Cost
(₹in Crores)
1
Dindigul-Palani-Pollachi gauge conversion (121 km)
610
2
Pollachi-Palghat gauge conversion (56 km)
350
3
Pollachi-Podhanur gauge conversion (40 km)
400
4
Quilon-Tirunelveli-Tiruchendur gauge conversion (357 km)
1,122
5
Mayiladuturai-Thiruvarur-Karaikkudi gauge conversion (187 km)
1,338
6
Madurai-Bodiyakannur gauge conversion (90 km)
593
7
Chengalpattu-Villupuram doubling (102 km)
670
8
Tiruvallur-Arakkonam 4th line (27 km)
83
9
Chennai Central-Basin Bridge doubling (2 km)
31
10
Thanjavur-Ponmalai doubling (48 km)
370
11
Villupuram-Dindigul doubling (273 km)
2,000
12
Chennai Beach-Korukkupet 3rd line (5 km)
168
13
Chennai Beach-Attipattu 4th line (22 km)
293
14
Omalur-Metturdam Patch doubling (29 km)
327
15
Chengalpattu-Villupuram and Tambaram-Chengalpattu-3rd line (133 km)
1,122
16
Salem-Magnesite Junction-Omalur doubling (11 km)
115
17
Madurai- Maniyachi-Tuticorin doubling (160 km)
1,891
18
Maniyachi-Nagercoil doubling (102 km)
1,752
19
Chennai Beach-Chennai Egmore doubling (4 km)
272
20
Karaikal-Peralam new line (23 km)
373
21
Northern End Port connectivity to Karaikal Port (1 km)
18
Some of the projects falling fully/partly in the State of Tamil Nadu which have been taken up are as under:
S.N
Project
Cost
(₹ in Crores)
1
Tindivanam-Nagari new line (184 km)
3,631
2
Morappur-Dharmapuri new line (36 km)
359
3
Nagapattinam-Tiruturaipundi new line (43 km)
742
4
Trivandrum-Kanyakumari doubling (87 km)
3,785
5
Arakkonam yard 3rd & 4th line (6 km)
98
6
Perambur – Ambattur 5th & 6th lines (6 Km)
178
In last three years i.e. 2022-23, 2023-24, 2024-25 and current financial year 2025-26, 29 surveys (06 new line and 23 doubling) covering a total length of 2,501 km has been sanctioned falling fully/partly in the State of Tamil Nadu.
Execution of important infrastructure projects falling fully/partly in the State of Tamil Nadu are held up due to delay in land acquisition. Status of land acquisition in Tamil Nadu is as under:
Total Land required for Projects in Tamil Nadu
4,326 ha
Land Acquired
1,052 ha (24%)
Balance Land to be acquired
3,274 ha (76%)
Support of the Government of Tamil Nadu is needed to expedite the land acquisition.
Details of some major projects which are delayed due to land acquisition are as under:-
SN
Name of the project
Total land required
(in ha)
Land acquired
(in ha)
Balance Land to be acquired
(in ha)
1.
Tindivanam – Tiruvannamalai new line (71 km)
276
33
243
2.
Attiputtu-Puttur new line (88 km)
189
0
189
3.
Morappur-Dharmapuri new line (36 km)
92
45
47
4.
Mannargudi-Pattukkottai new line (41 km)
196
0
196
5.
Thanjavur-Pattukottai new line (52 km)
152
0
152
Further, Rameshwaram – Dhanushkodi new line (18 km) was sanctioned at a cost of ₹734 Cr. The Foundation Stone of the project was laid on 01.03.2019. However, the project could not be started because the land acquisition has not been undertaken by the State Govt. of Tamil Nadu.
Government of India is geared up to execute projects, however success depends upon the support of Government of Tamil Nadu.
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.
This information was provided by the Union Minister for Railways, Information & Broadcasting and Electronics & Information Technology, Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw, in a reply to questions in Rajya Sabha today.