New Delhi: The Centre has confirmed progress on feasibility studies and Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) for several proposed third railway lines in Kerala, but has stopped short of committing to a completion timeline, citing extensive land acquisition hurdles.

The update came in a written reply by Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw to a Lok Sabha question raised by M.K. Raghavan, MP from Kerala. Raghavan sought details on the status of rail infrastructure expansion across the state, particularly third-line projects, and asked for an expected completion date with a focus on North Kerala.

He also questioned whether the Ministry planned to introduce an automatic signalling system on the heavily congested Shoranur–Mangaluru section of Southern Railway.

Surveys and DPRs move ahead

The Railway Minister said surveys for additional railway lines across Kerala are at different stages of progress.

For the 99-km Shoranur–Coimbatore and 107-km Shoranur–Ernakulam sections, field surveys have been completed and work on the DPRs has begun. The 307-km Mangaluru–Shoranur third-line project and the 105-km Kayankulam–Thiruvananthapuram stretch have also reached the stage where field surveys are complete and DPR preparation has commenced.

On the Ernakulam–Kayankulam route via Kottayam, the traffic survey has been completed, while field surveys are now being taken up.

A survey has also been sanctioned for a proposed third line between Thiruvananthapuram and Nagercoil, although the project remains at an early planning stage.

Land acquisition delays cloud project timelines

Despite the MP seeking a clear completion schedule, particularly for North Kerala projects, the Ministry did not provide a timeline.

Instead, Vaishnaw said projects can be sanctioned only after meeting several statutory and administrative requirements, including appraisal by NITI Aayog and the Ministry of Finance.

The Minister also pointed to land acquisition as the biggest obstacle. According to the Ministry, around 87% of the land required for railway projects in Kerala — about 540 hectares — has yet to be acquired.

The shortage of land has delayed several railway projects across Kerala.

The 111-km Angamali–Sabarimala new line remains one of the worst affected, with 279 of the required 304 hectares yet to be acquired.

The 10-km Shoranur–Vallathol doubling project has made no progress on land acquisition, with all five hectares still pending.

Meanwhile, the 8-km Ernakulam–Kumbalam doubling project is awaiting acquisition of the final one hectare needed to complete the work.

The Centre said ₹1,976 crore has been provided for land acquisition. However, the Minister added that progress depends on the support and cooperation of the Kerala government.

Focus shifts from signalling to additional tracks

Responding to the demand for automatic signalling on the Shoranur–Mangaluru section, the Ministry did not confirm whether such a system would be introduced.

Instead, it said a Final Location Survey has been sanctioned for the construction of third and fourth railway lines along the 307-km corridor in North Kerala.

The Ministry said adding more tracks is a more effective way to increase capacity on an already saturated double-line section. The proposed multi-tracking is intended to accommodate future traffic growth and improve connectivity, although it remains subject to the same survey, approval and land acquisition processes affecting other railway expansion projects in the state.