After a wait that spanned over eight years, doubling of the Kayamkulam-Haripad railway track has finally been declared over and the stretch will be commissioned here on Thursday. The occasion will also witness the launch of doubling work on the Haripad-Ambalapuzha stretch.
Union Minister of State for Railways K.H. Muniappa will be the chief guest on the occasion, with Union Minister of State for Power K.C. Venugopal to preside over the function that will begin at 11.30 a.m. at the Haripad Railway Station.
The Rs.44 crore-worth doubling project was launched in 2004 and was supposed to be completed in 2010. However, acquisition of 22 acres of land for the 13-km stretch and later, non-availability of sand for filling purposes all threw up obstacles for the project.
The Haripad-Ambalapuzha stretch, where doubling works will be launched on Thursday, is 18.3km and will require acquisition of 56.8 acres.
According to Mr. Venugopal, the objective is to complete the work by 2014 at a cost of Rs.120 crore. The Railway has also obtained approval for doubling works on the 22km-stretch from Ernakulam to Thuravur, where work is expected to begin shortly. Once land acquisition is over, the aim is to get the stretch commissioned within three years, the Minister said.
The coastal railway line, which serves several long-distance trains, was commissioned in 1991 and at present, after Alappuzha, only the Kayamkulam railway station has facilities to allow trains to cross without halting other trains. This, Mr. Venugopal pointed out, was causing delays for trains on the coastal route as well as those on the Kottayam route. With the doubling project solving this anomaly, more stoppages can also be expected along the route, he added.
The Kayamkulam-Mavelikara stretch had the doubling works being completed in March 2011.
