Amaravati: The South Central Railway (SCR) has completed electrification of railway lines to a length of 163 route kilometres on various sections in Andhra Pradesh, giving a boost to the 'Mission Electrification of Indian Railways.' The electrified sections are Kadiri-Tummanamgutta (53.30 route km), Pakala-Kalikiri (55.80 km) and Dhone-Kurnool city (54.20 km).
"This is a major rail infrastructure enhancement and paves the way for the introduction of electric traction in the interior sections of Chittoor, Anantapuramu, and Kurnool districts in the Rayalaseema region," SCR Chief Public Relations Officer Ch Rakesh said here in a release.
Electrification of these sections would enable seamless movement of trains by avoiding change in traction power and reducing en route detention of both passenger and freight trains. It would also improve the average speed of trains and provide an environment-friendly means of powering the trains while saving fuel costs, he said.
The Kadiri-Tummanamgutta and Pakala-Kalikiri sections have been energized as part of the 228-km Dharmavaram-Pakala electrification project, sanctioned in 2017-18 at a cost of Rs 253 crore. So far, a total of 176 km of the project has been electrified while the remaining 52 km stretch between TummanamguttaKalikiri was nearing completion, the CPRO said.
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The DhoneKurnool section is part of the 783 km DhoneKurnool CityMudkhed Manmad electrification project, sanctioned in 2015-16 at a cost of Rs 900 crore. The AP portion of the rail route between Dhone and Kurnool city has now been fully electrified, the CPRO added.
SCR General Manager Sanjeev Kishore has asked the zonal and divisional officers to step up the electrification works across the zone so as to complete them by the end of 2023.
PTI
