Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has said that the construction of a new railway line from Nagapattinam to Thiruthuraipoondi was apace with several major and minor bridges having been completed besides acquisition of land for the project. The new line via Thirukkuvalai falls under the limits of the Tiruchi Railway Division.

The Railway Minister gave a written reply recently to an unstarred question by Mayiladuthurai MP R. Sudha, who sought to know from the Minister whether starting of East Coast Railway from Pulicat to Kanniyakumari in Tamil Nadu was feasible and if any timeframe was set to undertake a study of the proposal.

Ms. Sudha sought to know whether East Coast Railway was proposed to start in Tamil Nadu and whether it was likely to be announced as a policy. In his reply, Mr. Vaishnaw said Chennai and Kanniyakumari were already connected via Vriddhachalam, Tiruchi, Madurai, Tirunelveli, and Nagercoil.

To improve connectivity in the coastal region, the Minister listed work and survey along with their status in different sections in the State. This included the construction of a 36-km new line from Nagapattinam to Thiruthuraipoondi via Thirukkuvalai.

Replying on the status of the Nagapattinam-Thiruthuraipoondi new line, the Minister said acquisition of 108 hectares out of 120 hectares of land had been completed. Eleven of the 23 major bridges and 288 of the 330 minor bridges had been completed. One out of four overbridges and 21 of the 34 underpasses were over, the Minister said and added that work had been taken up in the rest of the line.

Railway sources said the new line would have four stations at Palakurichi, Sembiyanmahadevi, Thirukkuvalai and Ettukudi. Palakurichi and Thirukkuvalai would be block stations while Sembiyanmahadevi and Ettukudi would be halt stations. The United Progressive Alliance government had sanctioned the project.

Published - July 30, 2026 08:24 pm IST