Southern Railway has been allocated ₹12,173 crore for various rail development works for the financial year 2024-25. This is 8 per cent higher than ₹11,314 crore allotted for FY2023-24.

The new line projects for which allocation has been provided are Angamali-Sabarimala (116 km); Trivandrum-Nagari; Erode -Palani (91.05 km); Madurai–Tuticorin via Aruppukottai (143.5 km) and Morappur–Dharmapuri (36 km).

In gauge conversion, an outlay of ₹150 crore has been allotted to Tiruchchirappalli-Nagore-Karaikal with extn of Nagappatinam-Velankanni-Tiruturaipundi, including new material modification of Karaikal-Peralam New line (23 km), said a release.

Seven doubling projects, including Chennai Beach-Chennai Egmore (4.3 km) and Trivandrum-Kanniyakumari (86.56 km) have been given outlay of ₹150 crore and ₹385 crore respectively, the release said.

Tamil Nadu got an outlay of ₹6,331 crore for various rail development projects during the fiscal 2024-25. This is marginally higher than ₹6,080 crore allocated for FY23l.

Ashwini Vaishnaw, Minister of State for Railways, while giving the State-wise budgetary allocation, said that it was a record allocation for Tamil Nadu.

The minister said 77 railway stations in Tamil Nadu are being redeveloped under Amrit Bharat Station Scheme and 654 flyovers/underpasses. A total of 116 Foot Over Bridges have been commissioned in Tamil Nadu in the last 10 years and 213 One Station One Product Stalls have been provided at various railway stations in the state, he said. Nearly 98 per cent of the rail network in Tamil Nadu has already been electrified, he added.

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