Loop line extension to end woes of passengers

Work going on at a brisk pace at Duvvada station

Work apace on extension of the loop line towards PF-4 at Duvvada Railway Station.

Here is good news for thousands of passengers utilising the Duvvada Railway Station every day. The ‘loop line extension work’ towards Platform-4 end at Duvvada, which is pending for nearly three years, is going at a brisk pace and is expected to the completed in the next couple of days.

The goods trains, parked on the through line next to the line going to PF-4, block the movement of express trains from taking the loop to reach PF-4. In such a situation, the railway authorities change the designated platform and those waiting for arrival of their train on PF-4 have to rush to some other platform in the last-minute with their luggage.

The extension of the loop will help in overcoming the problem. Located in Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) limits, Duvvada was used by 11 lakh passengers, raking in revenue of ₹9.1 crore for East Coast Railway during the last financial year.

Interchange point

Duvvada is the interchange point for East Coast Railway (ECoR) and South Central Railway (SCR).

At Duvvada, the passenger trains going towards Visakhapatnam and beyond towards Vizianagaram and Odisha, are normally allotted PF-4. Goods trains, occupying PF-1, 2, 3 or the through line, force express trains to stop on platforms other than the designated ones. Passengers are forced to cross the tracks and risk their lives to catch their train or rush up and down the foot-over-bridge.

The Duvvada Railway User’s Association had been representing the problem to the railway officials concerned seeking extension of the loop line for several years but the problem remained unattended. The Hindu had reported: ‘Duvvada – Passengers kept out of the loop’ (Feb, 26, 2014) and in the next financial year, the proposal for extension of the loop was given the green signal.

Though work on extension of the line commenced in early 2016 itself, the progress was tardy.

“The finishing works were started with deployment of 200 workers on Tuesday and is expected to be completed by Friday evening. The line length would be increased by 250 metres,” Senior Divisional Engineer Pradeep Yadav told The Hindu .