Title - Gauge conversion to be over next year: DRM

Says Palakkad-Pollachi work progressing well Palakkad Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) Piyush Agarwal has said that the gauge conversion of Palakkad-Pollachi railway line will be completed by August next year so that train services that were suspended in December 2008 can be resumed.Talking to The Hindu here on Monday, he said the Palakkad-Pollachi metre gauge to broad gauge conversion work was progressing well. Work on the Pollachi-Kinathukadavu section would be completed next year and the Kinathukadavu-Pothaanur line to Coimbatore side would be over by 2014.The Dindigul-Pollachi line would be completed this year where the bridge and earth work were progressing.The entire Palakkad-Dindigul stretch would be made operational in 2013 to resume train services suspended in 2008 for the gauge conversion work, the DRM said.He said the Shoranur-Karekkad doubling work would be completed this year. The yard remodelling work at Shoranur and construction of platform no.7 were progressing, Mr. Agarwal said.

Electrification

Electrification work in the Shoranur-Kannur section would be completed in December 2013 and Kannur to Mangalore by 2014. Once electrification work was over, more Mainline Electrical Multiple Units (MEMU) services could be operated from Palakkad to Mangalore in different stretches since line capacity was available in this section, the DRM said.

When asked about the Palakkad Junction MEMU shed, which was not put to optimum use, Mr. Agarwal said maintenance work on two MEMUs of the Thiruvananthapuram Railway Division and one each of Salem and Palakkad Divisions were being done at the shed. One more MEMU service was expected to be operational soon, he said.

At Palakkad Junction, work on the second Foot Overbridge would be completed by October this year. The construction of platform number one was progressing. This would provide direct entry to the station, without having to climb the steps, which would be of great help to physically challenged persons, he said. The DRM said the modernisation of the Palakkad Town railway station would be taken up only during the last phase of gauge conversion as train operations would have to be shifted to the Junction railway station for the purpose.

New services

On the two new trains announced in the last railway budget, he said the Tirunelvely-Dadar Express via Erode, Coimbatore and Palakkad and the Coimbatore-Bikaner Express via Konkan would begin services before March next year.

To ensure security of women in trains, 60 Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel were being deployed to escort the 16 passenger and 18 express trains during night hours (6 p.m. to 6 a.m.) in the Palakkad Division. Ten women RPF personnel were being posted for duty in the ladies compartments of these trains. In nine Express and nine passenger trains women RPF officials would be on duty.

An additional compartment exclusively for women, besides the one on the rear, was being attached to middle of the train to ensure the safety of women, Mr. Agarwal has said. Integrated security systems were being set up at the Mangalore Central and Kozhikode railway stations in the Palakkad Railway Division to ensure security of passengers and railway properties, he said.