The 13-km electrified stretch between Mangaluru Junction and Jokatte Railway Station under Southern Railway is all set for inspection by the Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS) on December 27 and the days are not far when trains are hauled by electric locos till Kumta under Konkan Railway Corporation Ltd.
Upon the CRS certifying the tracks till KRCL border between Jokatte and Thokur to be fit for operation of electric loco-hauled trains, the stretch up to at least Kumta would be ready to take electric loco-hauled trains.
KRCL has completed electrification of the line between Thokur and Bijur (105 km), while work on the line between Bijur and Kumta (75 km) is in the final stages of completion. Kumta station has three lines with loco reversal facility.
As such, loco change from electric to diesel for onward journey towards Mumbai is possible at that station, according to KRCL officials.
Caution
CRS (Southern Circle), K.A. Manoharan is scheduled to conduct the inspection of the track between Mangaluru and Jokatte between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. on Friday. A speed trial run would be conducted on the section during the inspection and Southern Railway’s Palakkad Division has cautioned the general public not to approach the railway line during the period.
Southern Railway has spent ₹ 20 crore for the electrification of the 13.147 route km or 25.429 track km line between Mangaluru Junction and Jokatte being taken up by its construction wing. While work on the 110 kV substation at Jokatte has been completed, Southern Railway is awaiting energising of the line by Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Ltd.
Shoranur section
Mangaluru Junction-Jokatte electrification was part of the Shoranur-Mangaluru (328 km) electrification project. With the completion of work, the line right from Thiruvananthapuram till KRCL border at Thokur gets electrified. Electric loco-hauled goods and passenger trains are already running between Mangaluru Junction/ Mangaluru Central towards the South, including Chennai, with the first electric loco-hauled train running from Mangaluru Central on April 1, 2017 (Train No 12686, Mangaluru Central-Chennai Central Superfast Express).
