The Hindu Business Line : Lalu opens broad gauge line between AP, Maharashtra

The new line opens up an alternative stretch for the traffic along the New Delhi-Chennai grand trunk route for trains between Hyderabad and destinations in the North.

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Kinwat (Maharashtra) Jan. 31 Nearly sixty years after Nizam State Railway opened a metre gauge railway line providing connectivity to the backward regions of northern Telangana and Marathwada, the South Central Railway (SCR) now put the Adilabad-Mudkhed section on the broad gauge map of the country, promising to decongest the busy Delhi-Chennai route.

The 161.95-km broad gauge line, opened on Wednesday by Mr Lalu Prasad, Union Minister for Railways, will give a new impetus to inter-State trade and commerce between Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra.

Conversion

The conversion has been taken up in two phases. While the 45.18-km Adilabad-Kinwat stretch was completed last year, the remaining stretch of 116.76 km between Kinwat and Mudkhed was opened on Wednesday. The project was taken up at a cost of Rs 280.62 crore.

Besides, the new line also opens up an alternative stretch for the traffic along the New Delhi-Chennai grand trunk route for trains between Hyderabad and destinations in the North.

Not only that. It would connect the Marathwada regions with Wardha valley area and the North by providing a link to the New Delhi-Chennai line. The traders and business community in Marathwada and Vidarbha regions of Maharashtra see this new line a great boon.

The power sector in Maharashtra too would benefit by the conversion. Upfront, it is a saving of 278 km for MahaGenco's thermal power station at Parli Vaijnath in getting coal for the plant. The coal wagons could now skip the existing time-consuming Kazipet-Secunderabad route and directly reach Parli Vaijnath, saving time and distance.

The new line will ease congestion on the busy Ballarshah-Kazipet-Secunderabad, according to Mr D.N. Mathur, General Manager of SCR.

Boost to tourism

Besides connecting people and boosting economic activity, the line is expected to give a big boost to tourism by offering connectivity to famous tourism destinations such as Sachkund Sahib Gurudwara at Nanded, Ajanta and Ellora Caves in Aurangabad and Daulatabad Fort.

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