Although the Kerala government has announced its readiness to implement the Sabari railway project, which will connect Sabarimala to the existing railway line by sharing 50% of the cost, it is unlikely to go on track soon for several reasons.
First, despite a formal agreement between the Chief Minister and the Center for its implementation, the project has not made any headway and the Railways has sought Kerala’s “clear consent” to share 50% of the cost instead of “conditional acceptance”.
The state demanded that the debt incurred by the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB) in financing the project be fully exempted from the state borrowing limit, even as the state assured the railways that it would acquire the land for the project using a 50% share of the project cost to be borne by the state.
Meanwhile, the office of the Deputy Chief Engineer, Southern Railway, has told the state government that instead of giving conditional approval, it should convey “clear consent” to bear the cost of land acquisition as part of the commitment of 50% share in the project cost so that the same can be communicated to the Railway Board for unfreezing the project.
Speaking to The Hindu, a senior bureaucrat said that as per the agreement between the state and the Centre, the state government has directed the district collectors of Ernakulam, Idukki and Kottayam to initiate the land acquisition process after the restoration of the land acquisition units. However, for the project to become a reality, he said, the center should agree to the state’s demand.
Besides, the different stances taken by the Center and the state to unfreeze the project, conceived nearly three decades ago, have once again brought things back to square one.
On one hand, the state is demanding that the railways unfreeze the project so that the state government can speed up land acquisition and related matters, and on the other, the railways continue to request the Kerala government to initiate land acquisition proceedings so that the project can be unfrozen by the railway ministry.
To start land acquisition in full swing, the state needs funds for which it is pinning its hopes on getting a waiver from the Centre.
In short, the project has still not started despite claims by the central and state governments that they have reached a formal understanding to implement the project.
In recent remarks in Parliament during Question Hour, Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw made it clear that construction of the Angamaly-Sabarimala railway line could begin once the land acquisition is completed. However, it is not clear how and when the land acquisition can be completed as the state is still awaiting the Centre’s policy decision on KIIFB loan waiver.
Meanwhile, the railways is planning to conduct a feasibility study for the proposed Dindigul–Sabarimala railway line. According to the revised project estimate, the cost will be Rs 3,801 crore, with the state responsible for 50% of the project cost.
Published – 17 Dec 2025 20:07 IST
