Southern Railway undertook a host of new works in and around Mangaluru Junction Railway Station to ease movement of trains, including commissioning of the double line between Junction and Padil stations, on Tuesday.
Mangaluru Junction Railway Station has been a crucial junction where trains from three networks — Southern Railway towards South, South Western Railway towards East, and Konkan Railway towards North — meet. As many as 102 passenger train services pass through the junction in a day.
SR’s construction division has undertaken doubling of track between Mangaluru Junction and Panambur Yard via Padil. At present, doubling work on the 17-km stretch between Junction and Padil, excluding 2 km between Kulashekara and Padil that includes 600 m of Kulashekara tunnel, is complete.
The completion, said a release from SR’s Palakkad division, is bound to ease congestion of trains and facilitate their hassle-free movement. Hitherto, connectivity on this stretch for passenger trains was on a single track while trains were subjected to detention for the passing of goods trains.
Upon commissioning the double track for passenger train on Tuesday night, Train No. 12617 Eranakulam Junction–H. Nizamuddin Mangala Express that left Junction at 10.05 p.m. was the first train dealt on the new double line.
Doubling work between Mangaluru Junction and Panambur (21 km), including the tunnel work, is expected to be over by March next, the release said.
Other works
Meanwhile, SR also executed several improvement works in Junction. Platforms 1 to 3 were extended to accommodate 26 coach trains while provision for two-engine lay-bys was provided to facilitate traction change from diesel to electrical and vice versa.
The existing electronic inter-locking signalling system was replaced with upgraded electronic interlocking and dual visual display units at Mangaluru Junction, the release said. Improvement in signalling eases movement of trains.
Provision was also made for continuous track circuiting between Junction and Padil to ease movement of trains and ensure safety while trip shed and ballast siding were provided at Junction.