With electrification work on the Mayiladuthurai-Thanjavur broad gauge stretch having been completed, the 70-km section would soon be ready for introduction of electric traction.
Pre-commissioning checks of the overhead electrical equipment were currently underway in full swing along the stretch.
The Mayiladuthurai-Thanjavur section via Kumbakonam is the final leg of the railway electrification project executed on the 228 km mainline section from Villupuram Junction to Thanjavur Junction via Cuddalore, Chidambaram, Mayiladuthurai and Kumbakonam which comes under the vast jurisdiction of the Tiruchi railway division.
The overhead electrification project on the mainline section was entrusted to the Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL), a Government of India enterprise under the Ministry of Railway.
The stretch from Villupuram to Mayiladuthurai were already energised and commissioned in phases and mandatory clearances obtained from the Commissioner of Railway Safety, Southern Circle, Bengaluru earlier for operation of electric loco hauled passenger and freight trains on that portion.
A senior RVNL official told The Hindu that works connected with overhead electrification have been completed on the Mayiladuthurai-Thanjavur broad gauge stretch and pre-commissioning checks were currently in progress by deploying a tower wagon. The stretch would soon be ready for commissioning, the official said.
The Southern Railway administration would be submitting relevant documents pertaining to completion of overhead electrification works on the Mayiladuthurai-Thanjavur portion to the Commissioner of Railway Safety, Southern Circle, Bengaluru to invite the him for mandatory inspection.
Ahead of the inspection by the Commissioner of Railway Safety, a trial run of an electric loco was expected to be conducted.
Only after inspection and obtaining statutory clearance from the Commissioner of Railway Safety, could electric loco hauled passenger trains be operated on the Mayiladuthurai-Thanjavur stretch.
Once the Mayiladuthurai-Thanjavur portion gets commissioned, the entire mainline section would become a fully electrified stretch paving the way for the operation of electric loco hauled passenger trains from Villupuram to Thanjavur and from thereon up to Tiruchi Junction.
As part of the project, two traction substations constructed at Cuddalore Port and Thanjavur Junction have already been commissioned.