Summary:
The move has come days ahead of a crucial board meeting in Delhi to expedite ongoing railway projects. It has been decided that railway projects — both under execution and under consideration — with less than 10 per cent rate of return will continue to have level crossing gates instead of rail-bridges. The land cost itself constitutes 30-50 per cent of the project cost,” said the railway board order. Among them are doubling and electrification projects in Madurai-Vanchi Maniyachi - Tuticorin (160 km), Vanchi Maniyachi-Tirunelveli-Nagercoil (102 km) and Kanniyakumari-Nagercoil-Thiruvananthapuram (86.56 km). The new line projects approved are Madurai-Tuticorin via Aruppukkottai (143.5 km), Tindivanam-Gingee-Tiruvannamalai (70 km), Tindivanam-Nagari (179.2 km) and Chennai-Cuddalore via Mahabalipuram..