The Hindu : Villupuram-Pondicherry gauge conversion work completed

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Friday, Mar 26, 2004

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Villupuram-Pondicherry gauge conversion work completed

By Our Staff Reporter

PONDICHERRY, MARCH 25. The gauge conversion work on the 40-km-long railway route between Villupuram and Pondicherry has been completed.

Twentyseven wagons of ballast were brought today to the local railway station from Villpuram in a trial run after completion of the gauge conversion work, a source said. Coconuts were broken and poojas performed to the arrival of the wagons at the station.

About Rs 43 crores has been spent for the project for the gauge conversion and for development of other infrastructure on this route. Train services between Villupuram and Pondicherry would be resumed shortly.

An informed source said here today that the Commissioner of Railway Safety from Bangalore, P. K. Sen would arrive here on a two-day visit from March 29 for an in depth and comprehensive technical assessment of the track and also other features to ascertain fulfilment of all the safety parameters. Mr Sen will have a ride from Villupuram on the new track.

There are 117 bridges on the route, which include one major bridge across the river Sankarabarani near Villianoor, three medium level bridges, and 113 minor bridges. There are 48 level crossings on the route. The gauge conversion work was taken up a couple of years ago.

Once the train services resumed on the new track there would be large-scale inflow of tourists from upcountry States and the services between Pondicherry and Chennai and Pondicherry and Tirupati would be resumed.

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