MADURAI/RAMESWARAM: Nearly two months since the newly laid Manamadurai-Rameswaram broad gauge line has been cleared to traffic by the Commissioner of Railway Safety, there is no indication as yet when the train services would commence.
The 111-km stretch, which is part of the Rs. 272-crore Madurai-Rameswaram gauge conversion project, was closed to traffic on July 15, 2006.
The project was delayed over confusion about the safety of the 2.1 km-long Pamban bridge. However, after taking opinion from experts at the Indian Institute of Technology and Structural Engineering Research Centre, engineers strengthened the nearly century-old bridge to accommodate BG rolling stock. The Commissioner of Railway Safety, Pranab Kumar Sen, inspected the section by running a train formation at high speeds on May 30. He cleared operation of trains initially at a speed of 60 kmph, and it could be increased to 90 kmph after the passage of one monsoon.
Though it was announced that President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, who is a native of Rameswaram, would flag off the train services, the proposal was turned down by Rashtrapati Bhavan, railway sources said adding that the United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi was likely to inaugurate the BG rail link to Rameswaram.
“There is no official confirmation yet on the probable date of commencing train services,” a senior official in the Madurai Division said. Inauguration of this section would provide a direct connectivity to Chennai and other major destinations.
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