Delay in the beginning the construction of a 4th railway line between Chennai Beach & Egmore!!
Posted on: 24/Jul/2023 9:13:07 AM
Out of 3 routes present between Chennai Beach and Egmore, suburban electric trains run on 2 tracks and express trains and freight trains run on the third line. It is noteworthy that the 4th line between Chennai Beach and Egmore is very important for operating those trains from Tambaram terminal. To increase the frequency of long distance and freight trains also, this 4th line is important.
In this scenario, the RB or Railway Board has given its approval for the project report on the 4th line between Chennai Beach and Egmore at a cost of Rs 279.8 crores. In the current budget also, an amount of Rs 96.70 crores has been allocated. The RB has ordered the completion of the 4th line between Chennai Beach and Egmore as soon as possible.
The acquisition of lands for this project is an issue now. This has led to a delay in beginning this project. In this regard, the railway administration undertook a survey regarding land acquisition.
Information is that out of total lands identified 250 sq m of land belongs to RBI and 2875 sq m of land near Cooum river belongs to the TN government. Then, the railway dept authorities held discussions with the authorities belonging to the RBI and TN govt. Despite the discussions, there has been a delay in the acquisition of lands for the 4th railway line project.
Truth is that the RBI has been refusing to hand over the 250 sq m of land to the railways. The SR or southern railways request of allowing one time total payment instead of annual rent has been accepted by the TN govt wrt the land present near the Cooum river. The revised ordinance has not been published yet and this has led to delay in starting the project.
It was pointed out by some officers from SR that out of the total of 4.3 km between Chennai Beach and Egmore about 2000 sq m of land comes under the Central Defense dept. After many discussions with the senior officers of the Central Defence dept, the dept agreed to provide the necessary land for the project.
There is now some issue in the acquisition of 250 sq m of land belonging to RBI plus some issues in acquisition of the 2875 sqm of land from the TN govt near the Cooum river. As a result, the 4th railway line works are being delayed now. The railway dept officers mentioned that they would be discussing this with the TN govt.
