The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : State railway projects to benefit from budget

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Mar 02, 2006

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

State railway projects to benefit from budget

S. Vydhianathan

Fund allocation will enable completion of conversion projects by next financial year

CHENNAI: On-going railway projects in the State will get an impetus, thanks to substantial allocation of funds made by the Railway Ministry in the current budget. But for the heavy allocation, completion of some gauge conversion projects would have taken years.

The Villupuram-Thanjavur conversion project (192 km) is progressing at snail's pace due to poor allotment. However, it is compensated by the sanction of Rs. 100 crore in the current budget and is to be completed by March 2007.

According to railway officials here, the work was entrusted to Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd, which finalised the contractor. The completion of the project will provide a direct link to Chennai from Thanjavur, Kumbakonam and Mayiladuthurai.

Other major conversion projects to be completed in the next financial year are Cuddalore-Salem and Madurai-Manamdaurai-Rameswaram. In the Cuddalore-Salem project, for which the State Government is sharing 50 per cent of the cost, the section between Cuddalore and Attur has been converted. The remaining stretch will be completed in the current financial year. This project will be executed by RYNL and Rs. 80 crore had been sanctioned.

For the Madurai-Rameswaram project, the section between Madurai and Manamadurai had been converted and the work is in progress from Manamadurai to Mandapam for which Rs. 20 crore was sanctioned.

As the administration is yet to take a decision on the Pamban bridge it will take time to convert the Mandapam-Rameswaram section. Till then, metre gauge shuttle services will be operated between Mandapam and Rameswaram.

Though there has been a demand to double the Villupuram-Madurai section, the Railway Board agreed to double the Dindigul-Madurai section, considered to be a heavily congested section. Rs. 30 crore was sanctioned for this work.

Doubling of lines

Tiruchendur, a major pilgrim centre of Tamil Nadu, will soon be put on broad gauge map of the country as the Board decided to complete the Tirunelveli-Tiruchendur section of the Quilon-Virudhunagar-Tiruchendur project by March 2007 and sanctioned Rs. 50 crore for the work.

Another major project which had been delayed due to poor allotment over the years is the doubling of the Irgur-Coimbatore section. Doubling the 17.7 km stretch is necessary to relieve congestion between Pothanur-Irgur-Coimbatore. In the current budget Rs. 5 crore was sanctioned compared to Rs. 1 crore in the last budget. The project is unlikely to be completed before the end of the financial year.

Officials of Central Organisation for Railway Electrification were all praise for Minister R. Velu, without whose effort, they said, the Villupuram-Tiruchi electrification project would not have been cleared. Despite stiff opposition by railway officials that electrification of single line was not profitable, the Minister got the project cleared. Though Rs. 5 crore was allotted in the budget as against the project cost of Rs. 88 crore, the Minister assured to provide more funds during the course of the financial year.

The official said if the section was electrified then the running time between Chennai and Tiruchi could be reduced substantially, which would facilitate the operation of more trains.

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