Southern Railway has announced it will fully fund the construction of 55 Rail Over Bridges (RoBs) across Kerala.
The move departs from the traditional 50:50 cost-sharing model with the state government and is aimed at breaking a prolonged deadlock that has kept several vital mobility projects stalled for years. These 55 RoBs are part of a larger pool of 126 sanctioned crossings, originally conceived under a shared funding model between the Union Ministry of Railways and the state government. However, the state’s continued inability to release its portion of funds has meant that a majority of these projects, despite being critical to decongesting roads and enhancing safety at high-traffic level crossings, have made little to no progress. The result has been persistent risks to commuter safety, bottlenecks in traffic management, and growing frustration among residents and rail users.
In a bid to course-correct and revive momentum, Southern Railway has identified 55 of the most urgent crossings—many in densely populated and high-frequency corridors—and committed to bearing the full project costs. These include several level crossings that experience significant vehicular and pedestrian movement daily, such as LC No. 69A between Edappally and Ernakulam North, LC No. 28 between Pudukad and Irinjalakuda in Thrissur, LC No. 558 between Kappil and Varkala Sivagiri in Thiruvananthapuram, LC No. 230 between Thalassery and Etakkot in Kannur, and LC No. 567 between Kadakkavur and Murukkampuzha in Kollam. While these bridges were envisaged years ago, work has remained largely on paper. In many cases, project implementation has been stuck at preliminary stages—awaiting administrative sanctions, land acquisition approvals, or contract finalisations. Officials from Kerala Rail Development Corporation Ltd (KRDCL), a joint venture of the Kerala Government and the Ministry of Railways tasked with executing these projects, have indicated that bureaucratic hurdles, rather than technical issues, have consistently delayed progress.
Railway officials, citing internal assessments, emphasised that the need to eliminate level crossings in urban and peri-urban areas is no longer optional but critical. Each level crossing represents a potential hazard, delaying traffic, posing risk to life, and contributing to emissions due to vehicular idling. In high-density zones, especially where suburban rail meets arterial roads, the construction of RoBs is imperative not just for safety, but for fostering a more seamless, low-carbon urban mobility ecosystem. “Waiting any longer to begin work on these projects would be irresponsible, particularly when thousands of lives are impacted daily,” said a senior railway official. “We have decided to go ahead and fund these bridges in public interest, irrespective of whether the state comes forward with its share.”
The decision, though welcome in terms of infrastructure acceleration, lays bare a deeper concern—Kerala’s persistent inability to meet infrastructure co-funding commitments. Officials familiar with the matter said that several budget allocations made on paper remained unfulfilled in practice, leading to a credibility gap that ultimately forced Southern Railway’s hand. Experts in urban transport planning argue that this situation is symptomatic of a larger coordination failure that plagues centre-state infrastructure partnerships. Without timely fund release, land acquisition, and project management capacity at the state level, centrally supported schemes—however well-conceived—can falter.
“This is not merely a funding issue,” noted an expert in public infrastructure policy. “It’s a governance challenge. Urban transport infrastructure requires alignment across departments—revenue, land records, municipal bodies, and more. When this doesn’t happen, projects stall even after central approvals.” Many of the identified RoBs fall within key transit corridors of Kerala’s coastal belt, where rail and road networks often intersect at narrow points, leading to frequent congestion. Replacing these crossings with grade-separated structures will enable both smoother road traffic and faster rail movement, reducing stoppages and allowing better timetable adherence for passenger and freight services.
Urban mobility analysts also point out the climate resilience benefits of shifting towards elevated crossings. By reducing choke points and long vehicle idling at manned crossings, these RoBs help cut down fuel consumption and emissions—contributing incrementally to Kerala’s efforts at climate-conscious urban design. They also allow for greater safety during extreme weather events, when waterlogging and power failures at level crossings pose compounded risks. However, even with full funding now in place, progress is far from guaranteed. Land acquisition remains a major sticking point, with several RoB sites located in congested neighbourhoods where resettlement or compensation can become contentious. Despite KRDCL being empowered to coordinate with state agencies, delays in acquiring even small parcels of land have derailed timelines repeatedly.
The success of these 55 RoBs, therefore, depends as much on inter-agency cooperation and political will as on financial outlays. Southern Railway’s willingness to shoulder the cost burden might remove a major hurdle, but project timelines will hinge on how swiftly the state government addresses bottlenecks around land and clearances. For residents living near the targeted level crossings, this announcement rekindles hope for long-awaited relief. Many recall years of campaign letters, petitions, and traffic snarls—all for infrastructure that had already been greenlit on paper. The renewed push from the Railways could finally translate those promises into concrete action.
Yet, the broader question remains: can such unilateral interventions become the norm, and should they? While prioritising public safety is commendable, the precedent of bypassing state coordination may further weaken the spirit of federal cooperation in infrastructure development. For long-term planning, inclusive and timely participation from all stakeholders—financial and administrative—is crucial. As construction tenders begin rolling out in phases over the coming months, the spotlight will remain on how swiftly the new framework translates to physical progress. For Kerala’s commuters, safety, and for India’s federal transport landscape, accountability—both seem to be on the line.
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