A survey would be undertaken to revive the Karaikal-Peralam railway line, abandoned two decades back, said K.H. Muniappa, Union Miniser of State for Railways.
During an informal chat with reporters here on Saturday, he said that the project would to be taken up under the material modification scheme of the Railway Ministry to expedite the proposal outside the purview of the railway budget. The General Manager of Southern Railways would have the upgraded survey prepared and send to the Ministry soon so that work could be taken up even before the railway budget.
Similarly, surveys to link Chennai with Puducherry and Karaikal to Sirkazhi would be completed within three months. The Chennai-Puducherry rail link, announced in the last budget, would form part of the Coastal Railway project of the Southern Railway. According to official sources, it would be taken up along with Puducherry-Cuddalore link to ensure direct connectivity between Karaikal and Puducherry.
Work on the 40-km Karaikal-Sirkazhi rail link would also start simultaneously. The proposed link would connect Tarangambadi and Thirukadayur with Sirkazhi.
On the Nagore-Karaikal line, the Minister said that the Commissioner of Railway Safety would inspect the line by September and it would be thrown open for traffic before the Sanipeyarchi festival at Thirunallar. Special trains could be operated then, especially from Karnataka since a bulk of the pilgrim traffic to Thirunallar originate from there.
Earlier, the Minister also visited a private port here. According to sources, the Minister was touring this region to gauge the traffic potential for creating/upgrading infrastructure.
