The Government of Kerala on the request of Indian Railways (IR) has initiated land acquisition proceedings and the Angamali – Sabarimala new line project has moved forward.
Ministry of Railways is following up the land acquisition process with Government of Kerala said Ashwini Vaishnaw Union Minister for Railways in a written reply to questions in the Rajya Sabha last Friday.
The Minister of Railways requested the Chief Minister of Kerala to acquire land using their share of 50 per cent of the cost of the project. Once land acquisition starts, work can proceed further, said the Minister in his written reply.
Budget allocation ( sanctioned cost) in last year’s (2025-26) railway budget document for the 116-km Angamali -Sabarimala new line was as follows:
Rs 1565.49 crore under the head Capital;
Rs 20.5 crore under the head safety and
Rs 20 crore under the head EBR (P) [extra budgetary resources -partnership].
Angamali – Sabarimala via Erumeli new line project was sanctioned in 1997-98 on a 50:50 cost sharing basis between Government of India and Government of Kerala.
Work on Angamali-Kaladi (7 Km) and Kaladi-Perumbavoor (10 Km) was taken up and subsequently frozen. In addition, a survey on an alternate alignment – Chengannur – Pamba (75 Km) new line was also carried out. However, this project was not found feasible.
Meanwhile, the estimated cost of the Angamali – Sabarimala via Erumeli new line project was revised to ₹3,801 crore.
