Title - Ankleshwar- Rajpipla gauge conversion nearing completion

The gauge conversion work on Ankleshwar-Rajpipla route in Gujarat is nearing completion, Minister of State for Railways Bharatsinh Solanki said on Monday. Passenger trains will soon start running on the route, he said.Laying of the foundation stone for broad gauge conversion of two narrow gauge lines at Samni village near Bharuch, falling under Vadodara division of the western Railway, had taken place in June 2008. The cost of the gauge conversion was estimated at around Rs 400.25 crore.The narrow gauge from Bharuch to Dahej industrial town is a 62km long track, while Ankleshwar-Rajpipla route is 63km long. Bharuch-Dahej stretch has three stations and Railways had spent around Rs 200.25 crore on its conversion.The conversion of Bharuch-Dahej line has become a major revenue earning source for Railway, Solanki said.Railway has been earning Rs 2.5 crore per day on this route by running four coal-filled rakes daily since December 1, 2011, he said.The Vadodara Division has run 411 coal-laden rakes on this routes since then, netting a revenue of Rs 264 crore in more than eight months, said the Minister, the Congress Lok Sabha MP from Bharuch.The Ankleshwar (Bharuch district)-Rajpipla (Narmada district) track will have 12 stations and is coming up at a cost of Rs 200 crore, said Solanki. —PTI