By Our Correspondent
Thiruvananthapuram: The Railway Minister has asserted that the Centre allocated a significant amount for railway development in Kerala. However, the latest Union Budget reveals that Kerala received only a small portion compared to other states, ranking third-lowest in railway allotments across India.
Despite claims from the Central Government of substantial support, with an allocation of Rs 3,011 crore for Kerala, states like Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra received over Rs 15,000 crore each. Kerala’s allocation in the previous budget was Rs 2,033 crore. In contrast, other southern states received the following amounts: Karnataka Rs 7,559 crore; Tamil Nadu Rs 6,362 crore; Telangana Rs 5,336 crore; and Andhra Pradesh Rs 9,151 crore. Notably, aside from track doubling projects, no major new railway initiatives were announced for Kerala.
The absence of any new passenger train tracks in Kerala over the past 30 years highlights the neglect faced by the state in railway development. The last passenger track commissioned was between Thrissur and Guruvayur in 1994. Since then, only the Vallarpadam terminal for goods trains and a seven-kilometer uncommissioned track from Angamaly to Kalady have been added. Additionally, passenger train services between Ernakulam and Cochin Harbour Terminus have been discontinued.
Recently, the only significant development was a Rs 367-crore project approved in February to build a new bridge at Shoranur, aimed at alleviating congestion and adding a second track from Shoranur to Thrissur and Palakkad. However, the budget did not address Phase 4 of the Kochuveli master plan, which only requires Rs 40 crore. There was no substantial funding for the Angamaly-Erumeli track due to pending cost-sharing decisions, and no major announcement was made for a third track between Ernakulam and Shoranur, as the location survey is incomplete.
Breakdown of Allocations for Kerala:
- Doubling Tracks: Rs 1,085 crore
- Thuravoor-Ambalapuzha: Rs 500 crore
- Thiruvananthapuram-Kanyakumari: Rs 365 crore
- Kumbalam-Thuravoor: Rs 102.5 crore
- Ernakulam-Kumbalam: Rs 105 crore
- Kuruppanthara-Chengannur: Rs 11.5 crore
- Ambalapuzha-Haripad: Rs 1.2 crore
- Other Projects:
- Angamaly-Sabarimala track: Rs 100 crore
- Ernakulam-Shoranur track tripling: Rs 5 crore
- Kollam-Tirunelveli-Tiruchendur track gauge conversion: Rs 2 crore
- Track modernization: Rs 300.19 crore
- Track Machine Satellite Depot in Kollam: Rs 1 crore
- Facilities for longer trains in Thiruvananthapuram: Rs 47 lakh
- Foot over the bridge in Aluva: Rs 59 lakh
- Funds for overbridges, underpasses, tunnels, and signaling upgrades.
Additionally, Rs 4.74 crore was allocated for constructing a new platform line at Mangaluru Central station in Karnataka, which serves a large number of passengers from Kerala.
