The first electric locomotive-hauled freight train from Tiruchi to Thanjavur Junction was operated on Friday.
The nearly 50-km Tiruchi-Thanjavur double-line stretch from Golden Rock was energised after the completion of overhead electrification works executed by the Central Organisation for Railway Electrification (CORE), coming under the Ministry of Railways.
The operation of the first electric loco-hauled freight train from Tiruchi to Thanjavur comes five months after the Commissioner of Railway Safety, Bengaluru, gave his statutory clearance, authorising the section for operation of electric loco-hauled freight and passenger trains in the last week of March, after inspecting the section and conducting a speed trial run.
The electrified section was formally handed over to the Tiruchi Railway Division a few days ago, by CORE officials, after carrying out works as spelt out by the Commissioner of Railway Safety prior to the introduction of electric loco-hauled trains.
Confirming that the first electric locomotive-hauled freight train was operated from Tiruchi to Thanjavur on Friday, a senior CORE official told The Hindu that the goods train, with 11 wagons, transported about 800 tonnes of fertilizers to Thanjavur Junction.
The consignment came from Chennai, and a portion of the goods train was detached at the Goods Yard in Tiruchi. The remaining 11 freight wagons were hauled by two electric locomotives from here to Thanjavur Junction in the morning.
Being the maiden run of an electric loco hauled-freight train, a senior CORE official and another official from the Tiruchi Railway Division travelled in the locomotive up to Thanjavur.
The goods train was accommodated in the goods platform at Thanjavur for unloading of consignment. It took an hour for the electric loco-hauled freight train to reach Thanjavur Junction, the official said, adding that the run was perfect.
All these years, freight trains up to Thanjavur, from Tiruchi, were hauled by diesel locomotives, as the section was not electrified. In view of the heavy density of traffic, the Tiruchi-Thanjavur broad gauge section was made a double line stretch and overhead electrification works were carried out thereafter.
The CORE, engaged in the task of electrifying railway routes across the country, is on the job of electrifying the remaining stretch from Thanjavur to Karaikal via Tiruvarur and Nagapattinam. Overhead electrification works in the Thanjavur-Tiruvarur broad gauge stretch is expected to be completed by March next year, and up to Karaikal by August.
Simultaneously, overhead electrification works are also apace on the main line section from Villupuram to Thanjavur via Cuddalore, Chidambaram, Mayiladuthurai and Kumbakonam. The project is being executed by Rail Vikas Nigam Limited, a Government of India enterprise.
