Vinod Bhat

New Delhi:  Railway Revenue/Earning is maintained zone wise and not State-wise. Kerala is covered under the jurisdiction of Southern Railway. The Revenue generated and total expenditure incurred  by Southern Railway during the last five years are as under:

(₹ in crore)

Budget allocation:

Budget allocation in the recent years has increased significantly in Kerala. Budget allocation for infrastructure projects and safety works, falling fully/partly in the State of Kerala is as under:-

Ongoing projects:

As on 01.04.2025, 06 projects (02 new line and 04 doubling) of 266 km length, costing ₹9,415 crore falling fully/partly in Kerala have been sanctioned.  The summary is as under:-

Recently completed projects:

Details of some of the recently completed projects falling fully/partly in Kerala are as under:

Projects:

Some of the projects falling fully/partly in Kerala which have been taken up are as under:

Land acquisition status:

Execution of important infrastructure projects falling fully/partly in the State of Kerala are held up due to delay in land acquisition. Status of land acquisition in the State of Kerala is as under:

Railway had deposited ₹1,975 crore for land acquisition to Government of Kerala.  Support of the Government of Kerala is needed to expedite the land acquisition.  For instance, details of some major projects which are delayed due to land acquisition are as under:-

Government of India is geared up to execute projects, however success depends upon the support of Government of Kerala.

Road Over Bridges (ROBs)/Road Under Bridges (RUBs):

As on 01.02.2026, 138 Road Over Bridges/Road Under Bridges (ROBs/RUBs) across railways tracks have been sanctioned at a cost of ₹ 4,835 crore in the State of Kerala which are at various stages of planning and execution.

A total of 106 Nos. ROBs/RUBs are delayed on account of the State Govt. The details are as under:

Completion & commissioning of ROBs/RUBs works depends on various factors like cooperation of  State Governments in giving  consent for closure of LC,  fixing of approach alignment, approval of General Arrangement Drawing (GAD), land acquisition, removal of encroachment, shifting of infringing utilities, statutory clearances from various authorities,  law and order situation in the area of project / work sites,  duration of working season in a year for the particular project / area  due to climatic conditions etc.  All these factors affect the completion time of the projects / works.

Railways have taken following measures to expedite the progress of ROB/RUB works:

i.   Joint survey with concerned State Govt./Road Owning Authority is done before finalizing the General Arrangement Drawing (GAD) to ensure smooth execution.

ii.   Periodic meetings of Railway & State Government officials are done to resolve various issues related to ROB/RUB works.

iii.   Standardization of superstructure drawings for various combinations of span, skewness and width of road on Railway portion has been done to avoid delays during the design approval. This has been issued in the form of compendium, which can be directly adopted for Road Over Bridge across Railway lines for expeditious planning.

National level progress of ROBs/RUBs:

Nos. of ROBs/ RUBs constructed on Indian Railways during the period 2004-14 vis a vis 2014-25 (Jan’26) is as under:

   Amrit Bharat Stations:

The scheme involves preparation of master plans and their implementation in phases to improve the stations. The master planning includes:

·          Improvement of access to station and circulating areas

·          Integration of station with both sides of city

·          Improvement of station building

·          Improvement of waiting halls, toilets, sitting arrangement, water booths

·           Provision of wider foot over bridge/air concourse commensurate with passenger traffic

·          Provision of lift/escalators/ramp

·           Improvement /Provision of platform surface and cover over platforms

·          Provision of kiosks for local products through schemes like ‘One Station One Product’

·          Parking areas, Multimodal integration

·          Amenities for Divyangjans

·          Better passenger information systems

·          Provision of executive lounges, nominated spaces for business meetings, landscaping, etc. keeping in view the necessity at each station.

The scheme also envisages 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.

So far, 1337 stations have been identified for development under Amrit Bharat Station Scheme, out of which 35 stations are located in Kerala. The names of stations identified for development under Amrit Bharat Station Scheme in Kerala are as following:

Completed stations:

Development works at railway stations under Amrit Bharat Station Scheme in Kerala have been taken up at a good pace. Till now, work of following 11 stations has been completed under this scheme:

i.      Angadippuram station: The works of porch in first entry, platform shelter, platform surfacing of platform no. 1 & 2, concourse, booking office, waiting hall, toilet, improvement of circulating area, parking and approach road of first entry, coach indication board, train indication board and signages have been completed. The works of Divyangjan facilities, lift and 6 m Foot Over Bridge have been taken up.

ii.      Guruvayur station: The works of platform shelter, improvement of concourse, circulating area and parking have been completed. The works of improvement of station building, entrance arch, booking office, waiting hall, new retiring room, Divyangjan facilities and Foot Over Bridge have been taken up.

iii.      Parappanangadi station: The works of porch, platform shelter, platform surfacing, improvement of concourse, booking office, waiting area at platform no. 1, toilet, circulating area at first entry, parking at second entry, lift, coach indication board and train indication board have been completed. The work of Divyangjan facilities has been taken up.

iv.      Payyanur station: The works of porch, platform shelter,raising of platform no. 2 & 3, improvement of concourse, booking office, waiting hall, circulating area at second entry, parking, coach indication board and train indication board have been taken up. The works of improvement of station building, circulating area at first entry, Divyangjan facilities, lift and 6 m Foot Over Bridge have been taken up.

v.      Tirur station: The works of improvement of station building, porch at first entry, concourse, raising and platform surfacing of platform no. 1, platform shelter, booking office, toilet, improvement of retiring room, improvement to circulating area at first entry,parking at second entry, lift, signages, improvement of Foot Over Bridge, coach indication board, train indication board, lift and escalator at second entry have been completed. The works of circulating area at second entry, parking at first entry and Divyangjan facilities have been taken up.

Further, development / redevelopment / upgradation / modernisation 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. Development / redevelopment / upgradation / modernisation of a station is carried out based on category of station/condition/traffic handled etc.

Further, Sanctioning of any railway project depends upon many parameters/factors which include the following:

i.   Anticipated traffic projections and remunerativeness of the proposed route

ii.   First and last mile connectivity provided by the project

iii.   Connection of missing links and providing additional route

iv.   Augmentation of congested/saturated lines

v.   Demands raised by State Governments/Central Ministries/Public representatives

vi.   Railway’s own operational requirements

vii.   Socio-economic considerations

viii.   Overall availability of funds

Completion of Railway project/s depends on various factors which include the following:

i.   Land acquisition by State Government

ii.   Forest clearance

iii.   Shifting of infringing utilities

iv.   Statutory clearances from various authorities

v.   Geological and topographical conditions of area

vi.   Law and order situation in the area of project site

vii.   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 Lok Sabha today.

Vinod Bhat

New Delhi: India, as an Associate Member of the International Energy Agency (IEA) and an active participant in international energy cooperation, welcomes the IEA’s decision to release emergency oil stocks amid the prevailing supply disruptions.

The Government of India is closely monitoring the evolving situation in global energy markets, particularly in the Middle East.

India stands ready to take appropriate measures, as necessary, to support global market stability in alignment with the efforts of the International Energy Agency.

70% of India’s crude oil imports now bypass Strait of Hormuz amid West Asia tensions