The Southern Railway plans to complete the fourth line project between Chennai Beach and Egmore railway stations by 2024, for which steps are being taken to acquire land through the Commissioner of Land Administration (CLA).
Southern Railway General Manager John Thomas said the Railway Board had given administrative sanction for executing the fourth line project between Chennai Beach and Egmore and the project would be executed under the Vision 2024 of the Indian Railways.
Land acquisition remained a main hurdle in the project. A major portion of the land needed to be acquired from the Defence department and the RBI. The CLA held a meeting with various stakeholders last week in this regard, he said.
The completion of the fourth line project would help in segregating express and suburban trains and increase services. The Vision 2024 project was part of an initiative under which several important infrastructure schemes would be taken up.
Mr. Thomas was addressing the media after participating in the virtual meeting with the Railway Board Chairman and CEO Suneet Sharma on Wednesday, in which productivity linked bonus (PLB) was declared for railway employees (not for gazetted staff) equivalent to 78 days salary with a maximum amount fixed at ₹17,951.
Mr. Thomas said the PLB would be paid to 72,241 employees of Southern Railway with a budget outlay of ₹130 crore.
The Southern Railway had performed well in freight traffic during the time of the pandemic this financial year with the freight traffic increasing by 12% compared to last year and the earnings increasing by 25%. He said the punctuality of the train services had improved to 93%.
Regarding the platform ticket charge of ₹50 at stations, Mr. Thomas said the rate was increased to control crowds as part of the COVID-19 pandemic prevention measures.
As and when the COVID-19 pandemic ends, the Railway Board would restore the old rate of ₹10, he said.
