New Delhi, February 11 A survey to construct a 145-km new railway line between Erumeli and Thiruvananthapuram was carried out in Kerala, but the project could not be taken forward due to low-traffic projections, the government informed Parliament on Wednesday.
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said this in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha.
Responding to questions regarding the extension of the ongoing Angamali-Sabarimala railway line, Vaishnaw said that sanctioning a railway project for extension or augmentation depends on several factors, such as the anticipated traffic projections and the profitability of the proposed route.
"The survey from Erumeli to Thiruvananthapuram new line (145 km) via Pathanamthitta and Punalur was carried out, however, the project could not be taken forward due to low traffic projections," he said.
Speaking about the Angamali-Sabarimala project, the minister said it was sanctioned in 1997-98 and the work on the Angamali-Kaladi (7 km) and Kaladi-Perumbavoor (10 km) sections was taken up.
"However, further works on this project could not be taken forward due to protests by local people against land acquisition and fixing of the line's alignment, court cases filed against the project, and inadequate support from the Government of Kerala. Therefore, the project could not proceed ahead," he said.
"The estimated cost of the Angamali-Sabarimala via Erumeli new line project was updated at Rs 3,801 crore and submitted to the Government of Kerala for acceptance of the estimate and willingness to share the project cost," he added.
According to Vaishnaw, in August 2024, the government in the southern state communicated its conditional consent, but the ministry requested it to submit unconditional consent for sharing the cost.
"Then the Minister of Railways requested the Chief Minister of Kerala to acquire land using their share of 50 per cent of the project cost. Once land acquisition by the state starts, work can proceed further," the railway minister stated.
Updating the House on the current status of the Angamali-Sabarimala project, he said that Kerala has initiated the land-acquisition proceedings and the new line project has moved forward.
"The Ministry of Railways is following up the land acquisition process with the Government of Kerala," he added.
Vaishnaw also informed that to provide rail connectivity to the Vizhinjam International Seaport, a new line from Balaramapuram to the Vizhinjam Port (11 km) has been taken up by the Vizhinjam International Seaport Limited, a special purpose vehicle (SPV) of the Kerala government under the Non-Government Railway model.
"Balaramapuram is an existing station on the Thiruvananthapuram-Nagercoil section," the minister said.
