More trains, passenger as well as freight, could ply between Hassan and Mangaluru with South Western Railway’s Mysuru Division commissioning state-of-the-art signalling system between Yedakumari and Kadagaravalli stations in the Sakleshpur-Subrahmanya Road ghat section on Friday.
The new signalling system, a release from Myusuru Division here said, would enhance train handling capacity by 35% on the section. Mysuru Divisional Railway Manager Aparna Garg in August said that 20 trains could be operated through the section instead of the existing 13 in 24 hours, once the signalling improvement project was completed.
The new system will facilitate crossing of trains at Yedakumari and Kadagaravalli stations on the ghat stretch. No train could enter the 55-km ghat section when another train was passing through earlier. The new system, however, facilitated movement of trains from both the directions with the provision of crossing at the two stations thereby enhancing the section capacity.
The release said the project with multi-section digital axle counter technology, was executed at a cost of ₹4.4 crore funded by the Hassan-Mangalore Rail Development Company.
It also considerably reduces maintenance of track circuits in the inhospitable terrain of the ghat section. Restrictions on crossing of trains at the ghat section imposed by the Commissioner of Railway Safety, following non-availability of catch-siding at two stations, was the primary bottleneck to operate more trains to achieve higher productivity.
Starting in June, the work was executed amidst hostile conditions including COVID-19 pandemic, very heavy rains, fear of landslips while digging trenches to lay cables, lack of road connectivity to move equipment, using diesel generator sets for power, and many more.
As expected, it got over by September-end and commissioned on October 1.
Mysuru Division’s senior divisional signal and telecommunication engineer D. Sreenivasulu led the team executing the project. Ms. Garg complimented the team for working steadfastly to complete the work in three months.