Vriddhachalam-Mathur double line almost ready.

With track doubling work apace in the chord line section, another stretch between Villupuram and Tiruchi where a new additional railway line was checked for safety recently.

K.A. Manoharan, Commissioner of Railway Safety, Southern Circle, Bengaluru, took up a two-day inspection of the new line between Vriddhachalam and Mathur.

Accompanied by top officials from the Southern Railway and the Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL), the Commissioner of Railway Safety commenced the inspection in the morning in the nearly 28-km stretch from Vriddhachalam Junction to Mathur.

Mr. Manoharan set off on the nearly nine-hour mission travelling on board a motor-trolley from Vriddhachalam to Mathur railway station where a double line has been laid.

Railway sources said the CRS inspected the newly laid double track, its formation, signals, overhead equipment, level-crossing gates, new bridges, and railway stations among others as part of his detailed inspection which concluded in the evening.

On Friday, Mr. Manoharan would carry out a high-speed trial on the newly laid double track travelling on board a special train as part of his inspection. The statutory clearance from the CRS was mandatory to open the stretch for rail traffic, said railway sources here.

The RVNL is executing the 273-km Villupuram-Dindigul doubling-cum-electrification project via Tiruchi at an estimated cost of Rs. 1,200 crore. The track doubling work was carried out simultaneously in various portions on the entire stretch from Villupuram to Dindigul via Tiruchi. Several stretches between Villupuram and Tiruchi have been thrown open to traffic following mandatory clearance from the CRS. This includes the Valadi- Ariyalur stretch.

Railway sources said the Vriddhachalam–Mathur portion was one of the two falling between Villupuram and Tiruchi requiring clearance from the CRS to operate trains on the newly laid double track.

With doubling work on this stretch completed and inspection under way, only the Valadi-Golden Rock section was left, said a senior railway official.

Doubling work on the nearly 18-km stretch from Valadi to Golden Rock was expected to be completed soon. As part of the doubling work, new bridges had been built on the Coleroon and Cauvery river.

The mandatory inspection by the CRS on the stretch from Valadi to Golden Rock was expected in the third week of this month, the official said.

Once the Vriddhachalam-Mathur and Valadi-Golden Rock sections are cleared for rail traffic, the Villupuram–Tiruchi section would have a double line, said the sources.

THE HINDU