Vice-President M. Venkaiah Naidu on Saturday inspected the 112-km-long railway line between Krishnapatnam (Nellore district) and Obulavaripalle (Kadapa district), and said that its commissioning was a dream come true for him.
Speaking at a programme organised at the Cherlopalle station, Mr. Naidu, going down the memory lane, said as an youngster he had roamed about freely in the area.
‘Longest tunnel’
Stating that the railway line would usher in an era of development in the region and bolster its economy, the Vice-President listed some of the unique features of the project such as its longest tunnel, and said he could not resist appreciating the engineering marvel.
The railway line was proposed by Mr. Venkaiah Naidu in 2002 when A.B. Vajpayee was the Prime Minister. Works on the project were launched in 2004 when Nitish Kumar was the Railway Minister. The project was executed at cost of ₹1,993 crore.
Another highlight of the project was that it had no level-crossing in its entire 112-km stretch.
An extent of 1,900 acres was acquired for the project that was executed jointly by the Railways, the NMDC, and the Krishnapatnam Port.
The project was formally inaugurated by Railway Minister Peeyush Goyal in February this year, and on June 20, the electric traction process was completed.
Cargo, passenger services
With two tunnels, with a length of 6.7 km and 1 km respectively, the railway line has 23 major bridges and 123 minor bridges. The railway authorities have a plan to develop the section as one that is commercially viable with both cargo and passenger service between Nellore and Kadapa districts, apart from serving as an import and export zone for the port.
Union Minister of State for Railways Suresh Angadi, Irrigation Minister P. Anil Kumar, Tirupati MP B. Durgaprasad, Kadapa Collector Hari Kiran, SP Abhishek Mohanty, SCR General Manager Gajanan, and senior officials were present.
