New Delhi: In the backdrop of the upcoming Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu, the Centre has been sending out a clear message: it is investing big in the railways of Tamil Nadu. Just on Monday, the Union government announced a big increase in the rail budget of Tamil Nadu, a figure which has risen over eight and a half times since 2014 and now stands at Rs 7,611 crore for the upcoming financial year 2026-27. The figures were put out by Union Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw in a series of posts on X.
The biggest bottleneck he highlighted is the issue of land. He claimed that the state government has only granted as much land as is needed to complete the ongoing railway projects in Tamil Nadu, which constitutes only 24 per cent of the total land needed, that is, 1,052 hectares out of 4,326 hectares. The Centre has already borne a cost of Rs. 1,465 crore to acquire land.
There are a few large projects that are yet to be implemented due to issues regarding the lands to be acquired. For instance, for the 144 km Madurai-Tuticorin new line via Aruppukkotai, 91 per cent of land acquisition is yet to be completed. Similarly, for the 71.33 km Tindivanam-Gingee-Tiruvannamalai new line, 86 per cent is yet to be completed. Likewise, for the Rameswaram-Dhanuskodi line, on which the foundation stone was
Despite all these constraints, several railway schemes have been sanctioned by the Centre. This includes the preparation of detailed project reports to expand railway capacity further, to spur the growth of Tamil Nadu in the fields of industry and commerce. Under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme, 77 stations across Tamil Nadu have been identified for overall development, out of which development work has been completed at 18 such stations across the state.
So far, approximately 1,350 km of new tracks have been laid by Indian Railways across the state since 2014. The electrification front has also witnessed significant growth, whereby 97 per cent of its rail network has now been electrified, with 2,386 km of rail tracks being taken up for electric traction. As far as passenger train services are concerned, “Made in India” trains have also commenced operations across the state, out of which currently, nine pairs each of Vande Bharat Express and Amrit Bharat Express are operating across Tamil Nadu.