Tamil Nadu - Madurai   

First double railway line in Madurai division commissioned

MADURAI: The second broad gauge line between Madurai and Dindigul was fully commissioned on Monday when the Chennai-Guruvayur Guruvayur Express was operated on the newly-converted track between Kodaikanal Road and Madurai.

“All the down trains are now being operated on the second line between Dindigul and Madurai,” Madurai Divisional Railway Manager, Anil Singhal, told The Hindu on Tuesday. Initially, the trains have been permitted to run at a speed of only 70 km per hour. “After the new track gets consolidated, the trains will be speeded up to 100 kmph,” he said.

The second line would provide a great relief to the existing broad gauge track that experienced over-utilisation of up to 140 per cent. “It would provide greater mobility with better track capacity,” Mr. Singhal said. The availability of an alternative line would avoid major traffic disruption between Dindigul and Madurai.

Stating that goods traffic had picked up in the last two months, he said the second line would enable operation of additional goods train without any delay.

The project to convert the 63-km metre-gauge line that took a little over two years was commissioned in two phases, the Deputy Chief Engineer (Gauge Conversion), A. Ilampooranan, said.

The work began in June 2007 and the first phase of 22-km second line between Dindigul to Kodaikanal Road was commissioned in September.

The second phase between Kodaikanal Road and Madurai was cleared by the Commissioner for Railway Safety, early this month.

As of now trains run on the newly-converted stretch are being delayed as new signal system was being installed.

The work is expected to be over in a couple of days. The project cost is estimated to have escalated to around Rs. 150 crore from its sanctioned cost of Rs.130 crore.

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