Southern Railway is ready with the second broad gauge line between Tiruchi and Manapparai and is awaiting clearance from the Commissioner of Railway Safety for operation of trains, Southern Railway General Manager Vashishta Johri said.
Interacting with the reporters here on Thursday after inspecting the facilities at Madurai Railway junction, he said the doubling work on the 37-km stretch, along with electrification, was taken up as part of the doubling project on Villuppuram-Dindigul section.
The original plan was to operate trains on this section by August 15.
50 p.c. doubling work over
Sunil Kumar Garg, Divisional Railway Manager, said that over 50 per cent of the doubling work between Manapparai and Dindigul was completed.
“This work is expected to be over by December 2015,” he said.
Work on the Tiruchi-Dindigul section under Madurai Railway Division would be completed faster than the Villuppuram-Tiruchi section. Journey time on the Chennai-Madurai section will considerably come down once the entire section gets the second line, he said.
Mr. Johri said that the CRS inspection was awaited for clearing the Pollachi-Palaghat section too.
Responding to the new rail line project proposed on Madurai-Aruppukottai-Tuticorin section, the General Manager said that priority would be accorded to give a rail link to the Tuticorin port with two power projects proposed in the district.
“This is to facilitate transportation of coal from the port to the units,” he said.
The work to renovate the Pamban rail bridge would be taken up soon, he said.
