Southern Railway Announces Expansion Projects Including New Lines And Electrification

Southern Railway has announced its plans for this year, which include the construction of new lines from Karaikal to Peralam and Chinnasalem to Kallakurichi.

Additionally, there will be an extension of the MRTS line from Velachery to St Thomas Mount, as well as the addition of a fourth line from Chennai Beach to Chennai Egmore. These developments were shared by RN Singh, the general manager of Southern Railway.

Southern Railway's present network extends over a large area of India's Southern Peninsula, covering the states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Pondicherry, and a small portion of Andhra Pradesh. Headquartered at Chennai, the Southern Railways' six divisions include Chennai, Tiruchirapalli, Madurai, Palakkad, Thiruvananthapuram and Salem.

Following the Independence Day celebration, Singh revealed that several projects will be undertaken this year, reports Economic Times.

These include the doubling of the Eraniel-Nagercoil to Kanniyakumari line, Jokatte to Thokur line, Aralvaimozhi to Nagercoil line, and Tirunelveli to Melapalayam line.

Furthermore, electrification will be carried out in the Bhagawathipuram-Edaman, Shoranur-Nilambur, and Madurai-Bodinayakanur sections.

In order to enhance safety, Southern Railway has been focusing on rehabilitating bridges. In the previous year, 102 bridges were rehabilitated, and as of July this year, 40 bridges have already been completed.

Southern Railway has been actively working towards improving travel efficiency and safety. In the past year, 75 road overbridges/rail underbridges were completed, and as of July this year, nine have already been finished.

The zone has successfully eliminated all unmanned level crossings and is gradually eliminating manned level crossings by providing road overbridges or subways.

In the previous year, 54 manned level crossings were eliminated, and by July this year, another 17 have been eliminated. Additionally, 60 level crossing gates were interlocked in the previous year, and electronic interlocking was implemented at 29 stations.

In 2022-23, the speeds on the 2,037km-route have been improved from 110 kmph to 130 kmph, and from 80/90mph to 110 kmph. During the current year, 12 trains have been equipped with Linke Hofmann Busch coaches, which have the potential to run up to 160 kmph, resulting in reduced travel time.

Under the Amrit Bharat Stations Scheme, Southern Railway plans to complete the upgradation of 90 railway stations this year. The redevelopment of 21 railway stations is expected to be completed within the next three to four years.

Out of 90 stations selected for modernisation and upgradation of facilities under the scheme, work contract has been awarded for 35 stations and tender finalisation is underway for the remaining stations.

Chennai Egmore, Katpadi, Kanniyakumari (CAPE), Ernakulam Town, Rameswaram, Madurai Junction, Kollam Junction are some of the major stations for which the work of redevelopment has been awarded.

The redevelopment works are being expedited at a steady pace with a vision to modernise the major railhead with futuristic designs, infrastructure and to provide best facilities to passenger.