CHENNAI: The Union Ministry of Railways has sanctioned Final Location Surveys (FLS) for six railway capacity expansion projects in Tamil Nadu, according to a communication from Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw to the Union Minister of State L Murugan.
It is informed that surveys have been cleared for adding fifth and sixth railway lines on the Chennai–Arakkonam, Arakkonam–Renigunta and Chennai–Gudur corridors, third and fourth lines between Villupuram and Nagercoil via Tiruchy, and for doubling works on the Palakkad–Pollachi–Podanur and Tiruchy–Karaikudi–Manamadurai–Madurai routes.
The Chennai–Arakkonam and Chennai–Gudur sections form part of major routes that connect the State with Andhra Pradesh and eastern and northern India, carrying heavy suburban, long-distance passenger and freight traffic.
On the Chennai–Arakkonam corridor, Railways had earlier approved the construction of additional lines between Perambur and Ambattur to ease congestion on the suburban stretch.
The proposed third and fourth lines on the Villupuram–Tiruchy–Nagercoil route are aimed at linking Chennai with southern Tamil Nadu, through which most trains to Madurai, Tirunelveli and Kanniyakumari operate.
The other two corridors identified for surveys: Palakkad–Pollachi–Podanur and Tiruchy–Karaikudi–Manamadurai–Madurai are existing single or capacity-constrained routes serving western and southern districts.
A final location survey is the last detailed engineering study undertaken before a railway project is considered for sanction.
It involves fixing the exact alignment of tracks, assessing land requirements and preparing preliminary cost estimates for the proposed work.
Projects include 5th and 6th lines on the Chennai–Arakkonam, Arakkonam–Renigunta and Chennai–Gudur corridors