The Hindu Business Line : SCR to take up work on two new lines soon

The South Central Railway (SCR) plans to take up work on the 19.1-km Jaggayyapet-Mallacheruvu new line at a cost of Rs 53.2 crore, of which the local cement industry has agreed to contribute Rs 11 crore.

SCR also plans to take up another new line, covering the 11-km stretch between Vishnupuram and Janpahad at a cost of Rs 42.1 crore, according to Mr D.N. Mathur, General Manager.

Addressing a press conference here, he said the Planning Commission had given in-principle clearance for both projects. "They will be further processed for sanction," he said.

Relief for TN

Passengers travelling to the north from south India can now heave a sigh of relief with the SCR completing the second bridge between Bitragunta and Allur Road stations. The new bridge would be ready for traffic from April 15.

The zone had already rebuilt a bridge in a record three months.

North-bound trains, particularly the Tamil Nadu Express and GT Express, were running late for the last five months as the bridge was washed away in the November 2005 floods. As a result, down trains too were delayed.

The zone, which clocked Rs 4,814 crore during 2005-04 as against Rs 4,203.76 crore in 2004-05, registered an originating freight load of 57.5 million tonnes (MT) as against 51 MT in the previous year.

The passenger traffic too went up significantly, with the zone carrying 216.5 million passengers as against 204.6 million passengers in the previous year, showing a growth of 5.8 per cent.

The zone operated 292 special trains during the festive season and other seasonal periods.

He said the 100-odd UTS (unreserved ticketing system) locations would soon be converted into computerised reservation counters.

Freight information system

Mr Mathur said the first phase of FOIS (Freight Operations Information System) had been completed. The zone hoped to complete the next phase to help handle the entire gamut of freight operations, including more effective monitoring.

Automated car parking

The new electronic car parking system introduced at the Secunderabad Railway Station has been well received. "We are getting enquiries from Bangalore and Howrah stations on this new system. We will introduce it in Vijayawada too," he said.

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