A railway underpass was constructed at one of three unmanned level crossings along the Nilgiri Mountain Railway route from Mettupalayam to Kallar on Wednesday.
On Wednesday morning, the train to Ooty passed Mettupalayam at around 7.10 a.m. and work began. The workers removed the railway tracks and dug the ground underneath. A concrete slab was then installed at the excavated area before interlocking concrete pillars were fixed. A specially designed crane was brought in specifically for the job, and the pillars, each exactly 12 meters in length and 4.5 meters in height were fixed at the designated spots. The sleepers and tracks were then laid on the pre-fabricated pillars and firmly fixed into position.
Officials from the Salem Railway Division had expected to complete the job within a 4-hour time span, but were encumbered by boulders underneath the track section. It took 10 hours for the operations to finish and the NMR train from Ooty passed through the newly installed section and arrived at Mettupalayam around 5.45 p.m..
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There are two other locations where similar underpasses for traffic are to be constructed.