The South Western Railway (SWR) on July 28 successfully conducted the statutory inspection of the 42 km (46 route km) electrified line between Padil off Mangaluru and Kabaka Puttur in Puttur by operating an electric locomotive.
While the inspection started from Padil at around 2.30 p.m. and the loco reached Kabaka Puttur around 4 p.m., the speed trial was conducted in the reverse direction thereafter, said Senior Divisional Engineer (Electrical), Mysuru Division, Soundar Rajan. He told The Hindu that Principal Chief Electrical Engineer of SWR Jaipal Singh led the inspection and trial.
Mr. Rajan said PCEE was competent to issue track fit certificate to operate trains on electrical traction and the same could be expected by Monday. The electrification work that was assigned to the RITES (formerly Rail India Technical and Economic Service), commenced in September last and got completed recently, he said.
Mr. Rajan said electrification work on the Kabaka Puttur-Subrahmanya Road (Nettana) section (48 RKM) was in full swing. If everything goes as planned, the work will be completed by September-October this year. However, electrification of the balance part of the Mangaluru-Hassan section, between Subrahmanya Road and Hassan, might take some more time.
When the electrification work gets completed till Subrahmanya Road Station, local trains could be operated by electric locos or even a mainline electric multiple unit (MEMU) could replace a conventional rake.
Mysuru-Hassan-Mangaluru line
RITES had bagged the contract for electrifying Mysuru-Hassan-Mangaluru line (300 km) in July 2021, including Arsikere-Hassan (47 km) line. The Union Budget of 2018 had allocated ₹315 crore for the project. The deadline to complete the project was fixed for June 2024.
