A speed trial run of a diesel locomotive was carried out on the 37-km Tiruthuraipoondi - Agasthiyampalli section falling under the Tiruchi Railway Division on Thursday following completion of broad gauge conversion and other associated works.
A team of senior officials from Southern Railway Construction Organisation and Tiruchi Railway Division jointly conducted the trial run travelling on board a diesel locomotive at a speed of 100 km per hour, said a senior railway official.
The team from Southern Railway Construction Organisation was led by its Chief Engineer, South, Chennai, Himanshu Goswami. The trial run went on well, said the official, adding that it was done primarily to ascertain the fitness of the newly laid broad gauge track.
The organisation executed the broad gauge conversion project from Tiruthuraipoondi to Agasthiyampalli where a metre gauge track existed earlier. The section had Karyapattinam, Kuruvapalam, Neivilakku, Thopputhurai and Vedaranyam stations en route. As part of the project, 79 minor bridges and four road over bridges were constructed along the section.
The speed trial run was carried out ahead of inviting the Commissioner of Railway Safety, Southern Circle, Bengaluru to carry out mandatory inspection on the section, the official said.
Only after inspection by the Commissioner of Railway Safety and obtaining his statutory clearance would the section be thrown open to passenger and freight traffic.
