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Time of India
11-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Railway funds nearly double; long-stalled projects revived
Chennai: Faced with criticism from Tamil Nadu lawmakers, the Union railway ministry increased funding for long-pending new railway line projects in the state — raising allocation from 222 crore in 2024 to 395.4 crore this is expected to revive nine key projects, including long-promised rail links connecting Chennai to Cuddalore via Mamallapuram, Sriperumbudur-Avadi-Guduvancherry route, and Tindivanam to years, several of these lines were in limbo, with the railway board allocating token amounts of 1,000, technically not shelving them, but withholding progress. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Last year, nearly 90% of the limited funds went just to the Tindivanam–Nagari and Dharmapuri–Morappur year's fund boost is crucial. Some of these are projects first announced in 2007. With proper allocations now, civil work can finally begin," said Tambaram-based resident-activist Dayanand Krishnan, who obtained detailed records through the major allocations is 55 crore for the Madurai–Tuticorin via Aruppukottai line, a project that became controversial after Union railway ainister Ashwini Vaishnaw mistakenly said it was shelved because the Tamil Nadu govt opposed it. Following a rebuttal from state transport minister S S Sivasankar, Vaishnaw clarified that he misheard the question in a noisy press interaction. The 143-km project, after being sidelined last year, now has its budget residents and activists question whether the revised allocations are adequate. "Tuticorin district alone sought 15 crore just for land acquisition. How will 55 crore be enough for the entire project," asked R Srinivasan, an advocate from Madurai who frequently travels on this route. Similarly, the Tindivanam–Tiruvannamalai project needs at least 95 crore for acquiring 35 acres of land in Tiruvannamalai district alone, while the 2025 budget sets aside just 42.7 crore. "There is no point in allocating money for name's sake," said S Kamal, a transportation Railway officials maintain that the renewed allocations will jump-start implementation. Land acquisition is nearing completion for the Tindivanam–Nagari line, and final surveys are underway for the Avadi–Sriperumbudur–Guduvanchery corridor. Officials said civil work will commence as soon as pending procedural clearances are obtained.
Time of India
08-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Another setback for airport metro
Chennai: The Airport–Kilambakkam extension of has encountered another setback, with the Union ministry of housing and urban affairs ( ) objecting to Tamil Nadu govt's submission of outdated documents for project 15.4-km corridor, estimated at 9,335 crore, is part of metro rail's phase I extension and is designed as a two-tier structure along GST Road an elevated road at level-1 and metro tracks at state govt finally clearing the extension late April and submitting the proposal for central funding, a critical oversight stalled progress. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now On reviewing the detailed project report (DPR), Centre flagged that the comprehensive mobility plan (CMP) which outlines commuting patterns and justifies metro expansion was five years old and did not reflect Chennai's current traffic realities. MoHUA directed Tamil Nadu to update the CMP and resubmit it along with the rail officials now say Chennai Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority (CUMTA), a nodal govt agency to coordinate urban transport, is updating the CMP and that there would be no changes to the DPR's project already faced delays due to multiple design revisions. Initially, the Airport–Kilambakkam corridor was envisioned as an 18-20-metre-high elevated metro line. That plan was derailed after the highways department proposed a parallel elevated road. A later redesign, with the metro at level-3 and the road at level-2, was dropped due to prohibitive costs. The current plan metro at level-2 and road at level-1 awaits Centre's say this isn't the first time CMRL's outdated submissions have cost time. "The same mistake happened with Madurai and Coimbatore feasibility reports. It shows negligence at the planning stage itself," said a Tambaram-based resident-activist Dayanand Krishnan. He added that MoHUA's quick detection within a month should pressure CMRL to act swiftly, as the extension has already been languishing since 2020.
