The much-awaited commissioning of the double line section between Changanassery and Chingavanam in Kottayam is set to take place before Christmas with the Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS) slated to inspect the stretch soon.
Officials said here on Monday that construction of the 10-km stretch was almost complete except the signalling work, which could be taken up after the inspection by the CRS. With this trains would be able to cut down on the running time by 10 minutes in the Ernakulam-Kottayam-Kayamkulam section.
“The preliminary inspection will be followed by a statutory inspection of electrification and speed trial. Once the CRS accords authorisation, the Railway Board will decide on the date of commissioning,” said a senior railway officer.
While the constructed speed of the section is 110 km per hour, the department expects the CRS to approve a maximum speed of up to 90 km per hour.
“The section speed could be raised at a later stage based on the annual track report by the CRS and by evaluating the weather conditions,” the official added.
Kuruppanthara
Meanwhile, doubling work on the 8-km stretch between Kuruppanthara and Ettumanur has entered the second stage with Railways already completing the signalling integration work with the opening of an additional platform at the Ettumanur station.
The second phase of work, which focusses on connectivity, is expected to be completed in a couple of months and the stretch will be opened to traffic by March.
With this, doubling will be completed in around 97 of the total 115-km Ernakulam-Kottayam-Kayamkulam section.
Running time
The completion of track doubling work in the Kottayam section is crucial for introducing new trains and cutting down on running time.
However, the doubling of the 19-km Chingavanam-Ettumanur section is slated to extend well beyond the target date of March 2020 owing to a dispute over imposition of Income Tax on the compensation for land acquisition.
Railways seek to take over four hectares of land from 200 property owners spread across three villages for setting up a second line along the stretch.
