Southern Railway speeds up infrastructure to meet growth: BG Mallya | So Good News
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As rail traffic in both passenger and freight transport picks up after a two-year hiatus due to Covid-19, Southern Railway (SR) is improving its infrastructure on all fronts. Train speed is increased; electrification and doubling of tracks is done on a war footing. And from the front is the general manager, BG Mallya. “We have tightened the system to monitor the progress of infrastructure projects,” he said business line. Excerpt from the interview:
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Passengers are traveling with a vengeance as the pandemic eases. What does the data say?
Yes. Momentum is quickly picking up in passenger travel. SR registered 302 million original passengers during H1 FY23 compared to 120 million in FY22. This is a growth of 22 percent compared to the same period in FY20 (pre-pandemic period). But in the unreserved and suburban segment, it has not yet reached the pre-pandemic mark.
What about freight traffic?
During the first half of the current financial year, we loaded 19.13 million tonnes (mt) against the target of 17 tonnes. Shipping revenues of NOK 1,766 million in the first half of the year exceeded the target by 17 per cent. We captured new goods such as gypsum, palm oil, laterite, industrial salt and limestone. The Railway Board has set a target of loading 35.7 tonnes of cargo and earning Rs 3,173.50 crore in FY23. We will reach our goal.
What steps have been taken to improve the freight terminals?
In the last two years we have taken up track upgrading work such as replacing rails, improving rail fittings and strengthening bridges. This has increased the average speed of freight trains from 28 km/h to around 50 km/h. We have improved our lines and infrastructure at the warehouses.
What about port connectivity, which is a major area of focus for the railway?
The completion of the third and fourth lines between Chennai Beach and Attipattu has contributed immensely to faster transportation of freight trains to and from the ports of Chennai and Kamrajar. Similarly, connectivity to New Mangalore port has been improved after doubling the line between Panambur and Mangalore junction. The ongoing Salem-Omalur will facilitate faster transport of coal rakes from ports to power plants in the south.
What about doubling/tripling/multitracking projects?
During FY22, SR has completed 57.73 km of doubling and muti-tracking projects, which include Tambaram-Guduvancheri third line (11 km); Padil-Kulashekara (2.26 km); Tattaparai-Milavattan (7.47 km), and Tulukapatti – Kovilpatti – Kadambur (37 km). . We completed 83.1 km of doubling projects in H1 FY23.
What is the progress on the electrification of lines?
SR has over 83 percent of the network under electric traction with 598.18 route km brought under electric traction in FY22. To meet the Indian Railways target of 100 percent electrification by 2023, SR completed electrification of Pollachi-Podanur; Madurai-Manamadurai and Ettumanur-Kottayam-Chingavanam. Further electrification of 85 km of track has been carried out during doubling/quadrupling. Recently, we electrified a total of 68.64 RKm sections in FY23 (Nagapattinam-Velankanni 10 Rkm and 58.26 Rkm of Dindigul-Palani).
Can you provide an update on the maximum permissible speed (MPS) limit in the Chennai-Gudur section?
SR has increased the MPS to 130 km/h Dr MGR Chennai Central – Gudur section. Due to this, the travel time between Chennai and Delhi is likely to be reduced by almost 2 hours.
Published October 17, 2022
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