Key rail projects of the State that had been sanctioned earlier will take more time for fruition with only token allocation made in the Railway Budget.
Railways’ resource crunch is reflected in the meagre allocation for the coach factory at Kanjikode, Angamaly-Sabari rail line, doubling of Ernakulam- Kayamkulam stretch via Kottayam and Alappuzha, and the Thiruvananthapuram- Kanyakumari line.
A railway official told The Hindu that this would keep the projects alive though the allocation was meagre. A sum of Rs.5 lakh crore, Rs. 50,000 crore a year for next 10 years, was needed for the projects.
As per the Pink Book, the Rs.550-crore coach factory will receive Rs.52 lakh and the Rs.1,566-crore Sabari line, Rs.20 crore.
A sum of Rs.127.07 crore is sanctioned for doubling works in the State while the Ernakulam-Kayamkulam stretch alone needs Rs.600 crore.
Land acquisition for doubling the Kanyakumari- Thiruvananthapuram stretch will get Rs.58.31 lakh while the project estimate is Rs.600 crore.
“With this paltry allocation, no headway can be achieved for the coach factory, Sabari rail, and other projects. The doubling via Kottayam and Alappuzha will drag on for years with this kind of allocation,” he said.
Development works of the Kochuveli terminal would also drag with an allocation of Rs.74 lakh. The upgrade of the Thiruvananthapuram Central, Ernakulam, and Kozhikode stations into world class standards in the PPP mode would also get delayed.
Not much investment was needed for passenger amenities such as Wi-Fi at the four ‘A’ class and 15 ‘A1’ stations in the Thiruvananthapuram and Palakkad divisions. The Thiruvananthapuram Central station may be the first to get this facility.
A pragmatic approach has been taken in the budget with the non-plan holiday approach mooted and stress on prioritising and setting timelines. Trains announced were of pan-Indian nature, the official said.
The Rapid Rail Transit System proposed by the State for short-distance commuters did not find a place in the budget as only projects of national importance were announced in the budget, he added.
