Commissioner of Railway Safety K.J.S. Naidu is satisfied with the newly laid third broad gauge line between Thiruvallur and Arakkonam and will soon issue a clearance certificate for operating passenger traffic.
Once the line is cleared, more suburban trains will be operated for the convenience of commuters, according to a senior official of the Southern Railway.
Meanwhile, tenders have been finalised for laying the fourth line between Thiruvallur and Arakkonam and physical work for laying 27 km line will start in another two months.
The Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL) is executing the Rs.160-crore project. Already land has been identified and there is no problem for laying the line for 15 km. For the remaining 12 km, about 40 hectares of land is required. The Railway Administration had already addressed the issue to the State government for handing over the land.
The Commissioner of Railway Safety will make a final inspection of Villupuram – Mayiladuthurai new broad gauge line on March 16 and 17. The Commissioner made a preliminary inspection of the new line in the first week of this month. The administration plans to open the line before the end of the current month.
The Commissioner will inspect the newly converted Punalur – Quilon broad gauge line on March 22 and 23. This is part of the Tirunelveli – Tenkasi – Quilon project. The stretch between Tenkasi and Sengottai had been completed and passenger services are being operated. The most difficult stretch is between Sengottai and Punalur which is a ghat section containing tunnels. The official said work on conversion of the existing metre gauge line and laying a second line between Coimbatore and Pothanur was almost over and soon CRS would conduct inspection.
Referring to the delay in completing the doubling of Coimbatore – Irgur section, the official said the administration wanted to complete the section well before the World Classical Tamil Conference. The State government was yet to hand over a stretch of 100 metres of land and once it was given, the project would be completed, the official added.
