Commuters of north Chennai are hoping for the speedy completion of the third line from Chennai Beach to Korukkupet. The third line, the completion date for which is estimated to be March 2018, would make Chennai Beach the main transit hub for suburban train services.
At present, commuters bound for Tiruvallur and Gumidipoondi from south Chennai have to get down at Park railway station for cross transit to the Moore Market Complex (MMC) suburban station. As there are only two lines originating from Chennai Beach towards the north and west sections, and they are mostly used for goods transit, Southern Railway faces severe restrictions in operating suburban train services.
Southern Railway worked out an elaborate plan for expansion of tracks on the Chennai Beach-Gummidipoondi corridor to segregate goods and suburban traffic.
With the expansion project now in various stages of completion, the focus is on the speeding up of land acquisition from the Chennai Port Trust (CPT) for creating the third and fourth lines from.
MoU signed
A senior official of Southern Railway said a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed with the CPT for exchange of land in 2015 for establishing the third line.
The third line project, running for a length of 4.1 km, is expected to cost ₹142 crore. The official said already, land has been demarcated by the CPT and very soon, it would be handed over.
Similarly, expansion work has been progressing well between Korukkupet and Royapuram railway stations.
In the meantime, railway officials claim that minor technical changes could help in speeding up the operation time between MMC and Gummidipoondi.
A loco driver of Southern Railway said that since train speed is fixed at 15 km on certain stretches on the north route, it means a longer running time compared to other routes.
He said with some minor technical changes in track alignment and fixing of concrete sleepers at railway stations, the speed could be increased to 30 km.
