Southern Railway uses lockdown to complete stagnant works at three locations in State

Chennai

It was not just Elephant Gate bridge demolition, which would have near paralysed train movement at Chennai Central. Engineers of the zone have also undertaken the reconstruction of a bridge in Salem and remodelling of Jolarpet yard where trains from Bengaluru (southwestern zone) and Kerala (south) converge.

“On normal days, the demolition of Elephant Gate bridge would require a mega block with cancellation of over 100 trains for two days at Chennai Central and cancellation of suburban trains from MMC for three days. Now, we have completed it in 12 days from April 27 without cancelling a single train,” said an SR officer. On April 16, the zone had awarded the railway portion of the work worth Rs 35.76 crore to contractor.

Likewise, the brick arch bridge constructed in 1862 between Anangur and Caveri railway stations near Erode in Salem division has been replaced with new construction in record 21 hours in early May. Originally planned to be constructed using two temporary girders (60ft) with crib support in the Centre, railway authorities had managed to rebuild it directly without girder by dealing trains on a single line between Sankari Durg and Erode without causing any delay to passengers.

Railway authorities also managed to reduce the journey time of Bengaluru and Coimbatore bound trains from Chennai by 20 minutes per trip by remodelling the yard at Jolarpet station which handles 190 trains daily. Remodelling of the yard at Rs 20.75 crore has enabled authorities to permanently relax the 15-km speed restriction, which has optimised speed by 30kmph to 110kmph at the curve, which would save 20 minutes per journey and 40 mins per round trip per train, an SR officer explained.