Delay in arrival of express trains at the Egmore station might soon become a thing of the past with Southern Railway’s project of doubling of track work between Chengalpattu and Villupuram nearing completion. The second track is likely to be thrown open for traffic by April-end, according to an official spokesperson of Southern Railway.
Work on three-fourths of the Rs.900-crore project of laying the second track between Chengalpattu and Villupuram for a distance of 103 km has been completed and the track inspected by the Commissioner of Railway Safety.
Work on the remaining 21 km from Karunkuzhi to Chengalpattu would be to be completed by the month-end.
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Foot overbridges have been built at 11 stations between these two junctions and the length of platform at smaller stations has been increased to accommodate the entire rake. As many as 10 road overbridges, a road underbridge and four limited use subways are being constructed between Chengalpattu and Villupuram, officials said.
At present, long-distance trains to Egmore from the western and southern districts reach the Vridhachalam 30 minutes or even an hour behind schedule. Loco pilots increase the speed from here to Villupuram to make up for the delay.