The first portion of the track doubling project being executed from Ponmalai in Tiruchi to Thanjavur has been completed.
With the second railway line in the 19-km stretch from Ponmalai station to Solagampatti station having been laid along with completion of other works, this section is ready for statutory inspection by the Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS), Bengaluru, on August 2. Five major bridges and 38 minor bridges have been constructed as part of the project.
The Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL) has been entrusted with the task of executing the track doubling project in the 47-km stretch from Ponmalai to Thanjavur at an estimated cost of ₹ 400 crore.
The work which was initially done by the construction organisation of the Southern Railway was handed over to the RVNL which is executing the doubling project from Villupuram to Dindigul via Tiruchi.
A senior official said works in the remaining portion from Solagampatti to Thanjavur Railway Junction (28 km) were apace and would be completed before December. New station buildings have been constructed at Tiruverambur and Tondamanpatti.
Foot over bridges have been constructed at Tiruverambur besides at Solagampatti station.
A bypass railway line has been laid for a distance of nearly four km ahead of Ponmalai railway station to enable freight trains proceeding towards Ariyalur side from stations in the delta region without touching Ponmalai railway station.
The second railway line between Ponmalai and Thanjavur was cleared by the Railway Board, New Delhi, in view of the steady movement of freight trains from Karaikal and other stations in the delta region and headed to different destinations besides rise in the number of passenger trains in the Tiruchi-Thanjavur-Tiruvarur-Nagapattinmam-Karaikal section and Tiruchi-Thanjavur-Kumbakonam and Mayiladuthurai section.
Some of the express trains that runs in the Thanjavur-Tiruchi section include the Tiruchi - Chennai Cholan Express, Mysore – Mayiladuthurai, Karaikal-Ernakulam Tea Garden and Coimbatore-Mayiladuthurai Jan Shatabdhi expresses every day.
