Kerala - Kollam   

Rail route to remain closed

KOLLAM: The 49-km Punalur-Shencotta metre gauge ghat section coming under the Madura Division of the Railways will be closed on September 20 to facilitate gauge conversion work.

The Punalur-Shencotta section is part of the Kollam-Shencotta section which in the past was the main rail route to Madras from the Travancore part of the State. The metre gauge section was laid more than 100 years ago by the British. The gauge conversion work is part of the 357-km Virudhunagar-Tenkasi-Tirunellveli-Tiruchendur project with an outlay of Rs.1,029 crore. On completion, it will also serve as a shorter route from Thiruvananthapuram to Chennai.

Railway sources said the 2010-2011 outlay for the Punalur-Shencotta gauge conversion work is Rs.62 crore. The whole gauge conversion of the section is expected to be completed by 2013. The gauge conversion work on the Punalur-Kollam section was completed in May this year and train services are operated along the section.

Being a ghat section, the gauge conversion work along the Punalur-Shencotta section had to be taken up separately because of the sharp curves, steep gradients and tunnels. The Punalur-Arayankavu stretch of this section passes through coming under the Thenmala and Aryankavu forest ranges.

But the Railways have enough land to carry out the gauge conversion work without touching the forest areas. The section also has a 13 arch railway flyover bridging two hills. Railway sources said the flyover would be maintained but strengthened to meet the requirements of board gauge traffic.

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