ECR Railway line to Pondicherry

The east-coast railway line from Chennai to Puducherry just got a little closer to realization as Southern Railway has okayed the final location survey to identify land use and cost.
Part of an ambitious plan to connect Chennai to towns along the East Coast all the way up to Kanyakumari, railway board has given the go ahead to build the line from Chennai to Cuddalore at a cost of Rs 523 crore. This, however, may go up to Rs 600 crore. The board has approved the new line by including it in the supplementary budget of September 2007. The last railway budget had allocated Rs 25 crore for initiating the project.
The railway line between Old Mahabalipuram Road (OMR) and East Coast Road (ECR) will connect Sholinganallur, Kovalam, Tiruporur, Mamallapuram, Kalpakkam, Kuvathur, Cheyyur, Marakanam, Kunimedu, Kuiyilappalayam, Jipmer in Puducherry, Bahour, Varakalpattu, Tirupadipuliyur and Cuddalore Fort. The line will run close to the sea at Mamallapuram http://www.chennaicircle.com/ecr-railway-line-to-pondicherry-starting