The Union budget to be presented by finance minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday is a landmark event because it includes the railway budget, which had been treated separately for close to a century. As always, commuters in Kerala are hoping for the best when the key document is presented before Parliament. Here is a wish list.
Angamaly-Erumeli Sabari Rail
The ambitious project aims to bring the hilly district of Idukki to the railway network. The high lands in Ernakulam and Pathanamthitta districts will also be benefited by the project. The project was given approval in 1997-98 in view of the heavy rush to the Sabarimala hill shrine.
In two decades, only seven and half kilometers from Angamaly to Kalady has been laid for the 116-kilometer project. A bridge across the Periyar River has also been built. The project has high hopes from this year’s budget. The project is expected to receive sufficient funds.
In the next phase of the project, tracks would be laid between Kalady and Perumbavoor at a cost of Rs 100 crore. The original estimate for the total project was Rs 550 crore in 1997-98 but the revised estimate stands at Rs 2,600 crore.
A proposal to extend the rail line from Erumeli to Punalur is also on the cards. The extension via Ranni, Pathanamthitta, Konni, Koodal and Pathanapuram is expected to get approval in the budget this time. This link line will be connected to the Kollam-Sengottai rail line at Punalur.
Another link line from Ettumanur to Pala has also been proposed. The Sabari rail has the potential to lead to the development of Pala, Thodupuzha, Kothamangalam, Perumbavoor and Moovattupuzha as satellite tows of Kochi. Suburban services can also be planned in connection with the network.
Nemom Terminal
The railways are denying Kerala new trains by citing a lack of terminal space. Many of the trains to Kerala are eventually sent to Tirunelveli in Tamil Nadu to halt because Kerala does not have enough terminal facilities.
Terminals are essential to conduct maintenance works on trains as well as to start and end journeys. Even Thiruvananthapuram Central has only five platforms. Many of the trains coming towards and leaving Thiruvananthapuram are held up elsewhere in the morning rush.
The answer to these problems was the Nemom terminal proposed in 2008 and 2012. The project featured in the railway budgets of both years but it remains a pipe dream. The Rs 236 crore project is a non-starter as the land for the terminal is not yet acquired. A new proposal that would cost Rs 68 crore is under the consideration of the Railway Board. The plan is to shift the coach repairing center in Thiruvananthapuram to Nemom and to add more pit lines.
This could lead to the addition of two more platforms in Thiruvananthapuram Central. More trains could ply towards the north from Nemom and to the south from Kochu Veli once the project is completed. Nemom in Thiruvananthapuram and the Old Railway Station in Kochi are proposed to be developed as satellite stations.
Ernakulam Old Railway Station
The Old Railway Station is all set to be the first green railway station in India. The railway plans to renovate the abandoned station by preserving the heritage building and the greenery around it. The work on laying new tracks will start soon.
The public-private partnership project is to be carried out by the Kerala Rail Development Corporation. The railways will prepare a detailed blueprint of the project and the Kerala Rail Development Corporation will implement it. The station, once it is electrified and put into action, can be a hub for MEMU trains, taking a huge load off the Ernakulam Junction railway station.
Once the Old Railway Station is made into a satellite station of Ernakulam, long-distance trains towards Shornur would start from there. Contracts have already been awarded for the works in the first phase of the project. However, delays plagued related activities including the rehabilitation of people, who would be dispossessed by the project.
The Old Railway Station was commissioned in 1902 as the first railway station in the princely state of Kochi. The king, Rama Varma, wanted a rail line from Shornur to Kochi but the British Resident told him to raise funds if he wanted the train service. The king surprised the British by taking up the work. However, he had to sell a part of the royal assets to finish the project. He was even forced to sell the 14 golden caparisons that belonged to the Sree Poornathrayeesa Temple.
The treasury had about Rs 44 lakh when the work started. The railway station would ultimately cost the king Rs 70 lakh.
The station has been a part of Kerala history. Mahatma Gandhi reached Kochi through this station when he visited Kerala to take part in the Vaikom Satyagraha. Lal Bahadur Shastri, Lord Irwin and Lord Curzon had got down in the station.
The king had an exclusive waiting room in the station. The documents also tell us that buses and auto rickshaws carried passengers to the station.
The 114-year-old station has been turned into a rubbish mount and a haven for anti-social elements since then.
Ernakulam Marshaling Yard Pit Line
The third pit line for the repair and maintenance works on trains remains a not-starter even though Rs 7 crore has been allotted for the project in the previous two railway budgets. The water-logged area chosen for the pit line causes inordinate delays.
The authorities have been saying that they would soon conduct a soil survey before the work but nothing has materialized.
Ernakulam-Shornur third line
This project has hit a dead end even though the survey has been completed. The track utilization rate between Ernakulam and Shornur stands at more than 118 percent. The railway refuses to let more trains run on this stretch.
The Southern Railway has submitted a project to the Railway Board to start the project in the aftermath of the Karukutty train accident last year. All eyes are on the budget to see if the proposal would get the financial backing.
Nilambur-Nanjangud rail line
The project is expected to drastically cut the traveling time between Kochi and Bengaluru. Many studies have been conducted on the project but the project has not taken off yet.
The proposed rail line could cut down the traveling time to Bengaluru by seven hours. As much as Rs 8 crore has been allotted for feasibility studies for the project. The original distance of 236 kilometers have been cut down to 162 kilometers in the DMRC survey.
The project is expected to cost Rs 4,000 crore. Though the line is envisaged as a partnership between the state government and the railway, the government is not viewing it as a priority.
The DMRC has proposed a tunnel to cut through two national parks on the way. The DMRC will also conduct an ecological impact assessment. The project, however, will not get on track unless the railway commits its share of funds.
