Rail traffic on the new Valadi-Kallakudi Palanganatham BG section is expected to start soon with the Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS), Southern Circle, Bangalore, according his statutory sanction on Wednesday. Sources told The Hindu that the CRS, who inspected the double track near Tiruchi last week, has prescribed an initial speed limit of 80 km per hour on the 25-km.
Working under the administrative control of the Ministry of Civil Aviation, the CRS conducted the day-long inspection travelling on a motor trolley at first followed by a high-speed trial.
The mandatory inspection was done to assess the standard of the new track and to check railway stations, overhead electrical equipment, level crossings, bridges, and traction sub stations .
With the clearance, the work of converting the signal from single line to double line would be taken up and completed shortly, say the sources.
The Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL), a Government of India enterprise executing the doubling project, will carry out the signal conversion work.
The base work of installing signals in the up line (towards Chennai from Tiruchi) and down line (towards Tiruchi from Chennai) are over and only connection had to be given, a railway official said.
A new panel board installed as part of the doubling project at the new station building in Pullambadi, falling between Valadi and Kallakudi Palanganatham, would be commissioned soon. Similar panel boards had already been installed at Valadi and Lalgudi railway stations. The sources said the Kattur railway station en-route would be downgraded as a halt station.
The double line forms part of the 270-km Villupuram-Dindigul doubling project being executed by the RVNL. The stretch from Valadi to Ariyalur (50 km) was taken up on priority to ease congestion, especially at night when traffic reaches its peak. It is a crucial segment of the Tiruchi-Villupuram chord line section.
Work commenced simultaneously in two portions – between Valadi and Kallakudi Palanganatham (25 km) and from Kallakudi Palanganatham to Ariyalur (25 km). Doubling work in the Kallakudi Palanganatham-Ariyalur stretch is expected to be completed by September.
The sources say congestion would get reduced to some extent once rail traffic becomes operational in the stretch. However, substantial reduction in congestion could be realised once the remaining stretch too gets commissioned.
