Nilambur–Nanjangud line also called ''The golden I. T. corridor'' or ''Wayanad Railway'', was a railway project to create a 5 ft 6in broad gauge rail connection from the town of

Nanjangud Nanjangud, officially known as Nanjanagudu, is a town in the Mysuru district of Indian state of Karnataka. Nanjangud lies on the banks of the river Kapila (also called Kabini), 23 km from the city of Mysore. Nanjangud is famous for the S ...

(

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...

) to

Nilambur Nilambur is a major town, a municipality and a Taluk in the Malappuram district of the Indian state of Kerala. It is located close to the Nilgiris range of the Western Ghats on the banks of the Chaliyar River. This place is also known as 'Teak ...

(

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

) through

Wayanad Wayanad () is a district in the north-east of Indian state Kerala with administrative headquarters at the municipality of Kalpetta. It is the only plateau in Kerala. The Wayanad Plateau forms a continuation of the Mysore Plateau, the southern ...

district of Kerala and Nilgiri district of

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...

. The first proposal for such a line dates back to 1881. Dmrcl has started a detailed survey. Kerala government sanctioned 10 crore rupees for this survey. This railway having a length of 236 km starting from Nanjangud near Mysore and passing through Madhur in

Chamarajanagar Chamarajanagar or Chamarajanagara is a town in the southern part of Karnataka, India. Named after Chamaraja Wodeyar IX, the erstwhile king of Mysore, previously known as 'Arikottara'. Chamarajanagara is the headquarters of Chamarajanagar distr ...

district of Karnataka,

Sulthan Bathery Sultan Bathery is a town and municipality in Wayanad district of Kerala, India, near the borders with Tamil Nadu and Karnataka states. The largest town in Wayanad district, it is the headquarters of Sultan Bathery taluk. The place came to ...

in Wayanad district of Kerala, and Devala in Nilgiri District of Tamil Nadu and reaching at Nilambur in Kerala is technically feasible as per the Kerala government. This BG line would join the existing railhead at Nilambur and lead to

Thiruvananthapuram Thiruvananthapuram (; ), also known by its former name Trivandrum (), is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala. It is the most populous city in Kerala with a population of 957,730 as of 2011. The encompassing urban agglomeration populati ...

. The estimated cost of this railway is Rs.4266 crores. During 2010 the Planning Commission has sanctioned the estimated project cost of this proposed railway. This saves about 70 km from Kerala to Bangalore and saves 360 km to Mysore. This financial estimate was found to be economically non-feasible by the railways and the project was shelved.

Government approval

On 2 January 2014 the government of

decided to share the cost of this railway project. Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, in a letter to Railway Minister Mallikarjun Kharge, expressed the state's willingness to share the project's cost. He also asked the railway minister to ensure that the first phase, (Nanjangud–Sulthan Bathery) estimated to cost Rs.641.78 crore. However, the government of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu have not come forward to share the cost of the railway line. The project has come to standstill due to lack of forest clearance since the line will pass through the protected areas

Ecosystem concerns

The new railway would reduce the vehicular traffic in

NH-67 National Highway 67 (NH 67, previously National Highway 63) is a major National Highway in India. It starts at Ramnagar on NH 748, Belagavi - Panjim Road of Karnataka and ends at Krishnapatnam Port road in Andhra Pradesh. Currently four la ...

and NH-212 since a major chunk of commuters and carriers would shift to railways per the Kerala government. However, wildlife biologists and conservationists contend that the traffic on the national highways passing through Bandipur tiger reserve is already diverted through alternate roads developed by the Government of Karnataka during night due to the already existing night closure of the highways through Bandipur from 9pm to 6am. The Nanjangud–Nilambur line was also rejected by the High Court of Kerala in its WP 602/2013. The judgement specifically stated "It is also pertinent to mention that there is a road connectivity between these two places and it is not a case where other form of transportation is missing or unavailable. Merely because there is a ban for night transportation on the roads, railway connectivity could not become the need of the hour."

Ecological concerns

Conservation biologists and ecologists have raised concerns about the ecological impact on the proposed railway line. Over 22 km of the railway line passing through the Bandipur tiger reserve and Waynad wildlife sanctuary will mean wildlife mortality due to railway collision almost on a daily basis.

Financial viability

It is estimated that more than 50,000 people are daily commuting to Mysore and Bangalore from

Malabar Malabar may refer to the following: People * Malabars, people originating from the Malabar region of India * Malbars or Malabars, people of Tamil origin in Réunion Places * Malabar Coast, or Malabar, a region of the southwestern shoreline o ...

and Nilgiri region . Around 240 buses are plying to

Mysore Mysore (), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern part of the state of Karnataka, India. Mysore city is geographically located between 12° 18′ 26″ north latitude and 76° 38′ 59″ east longitude. It is located at an altitude of ...

and

Bangalore Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

through NH-212 and

from this region. By the inception of new railway line journey from

to Mysore would take just 1 hour and Bangalore 3 hours. The journey from Devala (Gudalur Road) would take 30 minutes more.

Ooty Ooty (), officially known as Udhagamandalam (also known as Ootacamund (); abbreviated as Udhagai), is a city and a municipality in the Nilgiris district of the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located north west of Coimbatore and so ...

could be reached from Gudalur Road in one and a half hour drive so that this rail would be the favourite destination of tourists. More than 800

truck A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame construction ...

s are passing through NH212 in one direction through

daily. About 700 trucks are reaching Gudalur through NH67. Destination of this freight is the neighbouring 8 districts. Considering the logistic movement currently in NH 212 and NH67 which is expected to be shifted to the railway and expected increase by the introduction of railway, the freight

revenue In accounting, revenue is the total amount of income generated by the sale of goods and services related to the primary operations of the business. Commercial revenue may also be referred to as sales or as turnover. Some companies receive reven ...

would be multi fold of the travel revenue.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nilambur-Nanjangud line Cancelled railway lines Rail transport in Kerala Rail transport in Karnataka * Transport in Malappuram district Transport in Wayanad district Transport in Mysore district