Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Monday announced that the Centre has earmarked a Budget outlay of ₹3,795 crore for rail development projects in Kerala for the year 2026–27. However, the project-wise allocation for individual rail projects has not yet been released.
Sources close to the Railways clarified that the announced outlay represents the total project cost of various development works currently under way in the State. This does not mean that the entire ₹3,795 crore will be spent in next financial year. Rather, it reflects the cumulative cost of projects already under construction.
Responding to questions on the high-speed rail project being worked on by technocrat E. Sreedharan, Mr. Vaishnaw stated in New Delhi that the Union government has extended full support to Mr. Sreedharan’s efforts.
He also confirmed that Mr. Sreedharan had consulted him regarding rail development in Kerala. While assuring that the high-speed rail project would eventually come to the State, the Railway Minister refrained from providing further details.
The Minister also did not give a clear timeline for the implementation of the high-speed rail line in Kerala. He said that work on preparing the detailed project report (DPR) for the Mangaluru–Shoranur fourth line and the field survey for the 106-km-long Shoranur–Ernakulam third line were currently in progress.
