The Madurai to Tuticorin and Madurai to Nagercoil through Maniyachi doubling projects have been granted the highest allocation of ₹500 crore of the total ₹3,855 crore allotted for the Southern Railway (SR) for 2021-22 fiscal. General Manager, Southern Railway reiterated that this section got 3.59% of the ₹1,07,300 crore allocated for Indian Railways under the gross budgetary support (GBS). He also elaborated on the allotment for the region and status of ongoing projects in the states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Out of ₹500 crores, an allotment worth ₹300 crore has been given for the Madurai to Tuticorin section and ₹200 crore for the Maniyachi to Nagercoil section. The targeted date of completion for the two projects is June 2022. The Madurai – Aruppukottai – Tuticorin new line project has been targeted for completion by June this year. Doubling of the Thiruvananthapuram – Kanyakumari section for which ₹275 crore is allocated is targeted for completion by March 2024. Construction of the new Pamban Bridge in the place of the century-old existing railway bridge was to be completed by December 2021 but due to two cyclones during the northeast monsoon, they got delayed and now they would be completed by March next year.
