The Salem Railway Division is initiating steps to ensure that the Coimbatore North – Mettupalayam Electrified Railway Line become operational by this month end.
S. K. Mittal, Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS), who inspected the electrified track recently, is likely to submit his recommendation soon.
The Salem divisional authorities have also written to the Railway Ministry seeking its permission to throw open the service by month end.
“We have requested the Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu to inaugurate the electrified section,” Salem division sources told The Hindu .
The 33-km long Coimbatore North – Mettupalayam electrification work was taken up in January 2014 at an outlay of Rs. 40 crore and completed recently. The section had two railway stations en route – Periyanayakkanpalayam and Karamadai.
The electrification will enable operation of train services directly to Mettupalayam from other parts of the state without touching Coimbatore Junction. This will help in decongesting Coimbatore Junction.
The platforms at Mettupalayam station are not lengthy enough to accommodate 24 coaches at present. Steps have been taken for the extension of the platforms. The work is expected to be completed in a year.
After the completion of the platform extension work, the Railways are expected to operate the Chennai Central – Mettupalayam Blue Mountain Express via North Coimbatore without touching Coimbatore Junction. At present, the train is operated via Coimbatore Junction, where a few coaches are delinked and the rest of the train is operated up to Mettupalayam.
Once the electrified section is thrown open for regular traffic, it will provide a direct link for the commuters of Salem, Erode and Palakkad to Mettupalayam / Udhagamandalam without touching Coimbatore Junction.
Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu requested to inaugurate the electrified section
