The railway administration's announcement to conduct a preliminary engineering survey for doubling the Villupuram - Mayiladuthurai - Thanjavur mainline section is seen as a positive development by the rail users who have been consistently urging for implementation of the project.
The Southern Railway Construction Organisation has recently floated a tender to carry out the engineering survey in the 193-km long mainline section which serves as an alternative route to Chennai from Tiruchi in the event of any disruption of rail traffic in the Villupuram- Vriddhachalam -Tiruchi chord line section.
Despite being...
more... a single line section currently, the mainline stretch has been witness to steady rise in passenger traffic over the years prompting passenger associations in the delta region to fervently appeal over the years for doubling the route.
The announcement of engineering survey for doubling the stretch comes at a time when the mainline section is being electrified in phases — a major project currently undertaken by the Rail Vikas Nigam Limited, a Government of India enterprise.
“The survey announced for doubling the mainline section which has prominent towns - Chidambaram, Mayiladuthurai and Kumbakonam en route- is definitely a step forward amid persistent demand from rail users,” said A. Giri, advisor, Thanjavur District Rail Users Association.
Without stopping with conducting a survey, the railway administration should take the next step of according early approval for the doubling project and allocate substantial funds to complete it without any time delay, say rail users in the delta region.
The demand for doubling the mainline section has gained momentum in the last five years owing to steady rise in passenger traffic. Representations and memorandums seeking doubling of the mainline section has been given many a time in the past, observed T. Saravanan, secretary, Rail Passengers Association, Papanasam.
Keeping in mind the spurt in traffic density in the mainline section, the railway administration should seriously consider doubling the stretch by granting approval for the project at the earliest and earmarking sizeable funds which would ensure its speedy completion, feels Mr. Giri. The survey should not be merely an eyewash, he adds.
Some of the important trains currently operated on the mainline route include the Tiruchi - Chennai- Tiruchi Cholan expresses, Thanjavur - Chennai - Thanjavur Uzhavan expresses, Mannargudi - Chennai - Mannargudi Mannai expresses, Rameswaram- Bhubaneswar- Rameswaram expresses, Tambaram - Nagercoil - Tambaram Antyodhaya expresses, Rameswaram - Tirupati, Mannargudi - Tirupati and Rameswaram - Faizabad expresses.
Track-doubling would pave the way for operation of more trains on the mainline section which would further boost passenger traffic and generate revenue for the railways, said Mr. Saravanan adding that the railway administration should consider operating a train from Thanjavur to Mumbai connecting the religious towns in the delta region.