According to a gazette notification issued by the Ministry of Railways (Southern Railway), the following stretches have been included:
– 12.66 km Alappuzha-Ambalapuzha section (estimated cost: Rs 324.16 crore) – 21.10 km Thuravur-Mararikulam section (Rs 451 crore) – 10.65 km Alappuzha-Mararikulam section (Rs 220.51 crore), all in Alappuzha district – 1.80 km Palakkad Town-Parli Bypass Line (Rs 163.57 crore) in Palakkad district
The special project status enables the Railways to appoint competent authorities empowered to oversee land acquisition, including issuing notifications, determining compensation, and resolving objections, in line with the legislative provisions. This framework aims to streamline and hasten the execution of these vital railway projects.
These projects form part of the broader Ernakulam-Kayamkulam doubling work, a key infrastructure initiative designed to ease congestion on Kerala’s busy coastal corridor. Completion of the Mararikulam-Alappuzha section alone is expected to allow nine additional passenger trains to operate in each direction daily and to handle freight traffic up to 2.88 million tonnes per annum.
The overall doubling effort will increase line capacity, improve punctuality for passenger and freight trains, reduce delays caused by waiting at crossing stations on the mostly single-line route, and enable the introduction of more train services.
Varghese S Edayady, state president of the Thirukochi Rail Commuters Welfare Association, highlighted the importance of timely cooperation between the Union and Kerala state governments to expedite land acquisition. He noted that delays in land acquisition remain the largest challenge in Kerala compared to other states. He added that once land acquisition is completed, work on the Thuravur-Ambalapuzha stretch can proceed rapidly due to favourable terrain and fewer canal crossings.
A Southern Railway official confirmed that foundation work has started on the Thuravur section and efforts are ongoing to accelerate land acquisition for the other stretches.
This notification is expected to significantly aid the next phase of land acquisition and overall progress for these critical railway doubling projects in Kerala.
