South Central Railway (SCR) on Friday announced that the broad gauge rail network under the Nanded Division has been fully electrified. The 43-km stretch between Mirkhal and Maltekdi was the last to be electrified on the 924-km Manmad–Mudkhed–Dhone section.
The Manmad–Mudkhed section is a critical rail link that connects the Marathwada region to key cities such as Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Nagpur and Bilaspur.
A project to electrify the rail network, spread across Maharashtra, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, was sanctioned in 2015-16 and the work was done in phases. Approximately 406 km between Dharmabad and Kurnool City (excluding Manoharabad–Mahabubnagar) was electrified in Telangana and 54 km between Kurnool and Dhone in Andhra Pradesh. Manmad–Mudkhed section, covering 406 km, broadly falls in the Marathwada region in Maharashtra.
The electrification will improve train movement by obviating the need to change traction power and reducing on route detention of both passenger and freight trains. This will further improve the average speed of trains. The enhanced section capacity leaves room for more trains as well.
In another development, the SCR said the 27-km Gundlakamma-Darsi rail line has been commissioned. It is part of ₹2,289-crore, 309-km Nadikudi-Srikalahasti new railway line sanctioned in 2011-12, with 50% cost sharing with Andhra Pradesh government. The route was conceptualised as an alternative to the present coastal line from Vijayawada to Chennai, which is highly saturated and prone to be affected by floods and cyclones causing rail traffic disruptions.
First phase of 47 km from Piduguralla to Savalyapuram has already been completed. The remaining sections are: 53-km Darsi-Kanigiri; 15-km Venkatagiri-Alturipadu; 35-km Kanigiri-Pamuru; 43-km Atluripadu-Venkatapuram; and 90-km Obulayapalle-Venkatapuram. Once completed, it will become the shortest route between Guntur and Tirupati, according to a press release.
