Title - Doubling of Dindigul-Villupuram rail line to be ready by September

The stage has been set for the inspection with completion of the track doubling work between Valadi and Kallakudi Palanganatham in the Tiruchi – Ariyalur broad gauge section.   S K Mittal, Commissioner of Railway Safety, will conduct both trolley inspection and a speed trial run on the 25-km stretch from Valadi to Kallakudi Palanganatham on 17 May from the Kallakudi Palanganatham side. The stretch, with four major bridges, 80 minor bridges, 13 level crossings, and four stations, has been completed at a cost of Rs. 100 crore.  
The work was taken up as part of 270-km Villupuram-Dindigul doubling project being executed by the RVNL and a Special Purpose Vehicle floated to take up project development and implement projects pertaining to strengthening of golden quadrilateral and port connectivity. The total project cost exceeds Rs. 1,000 crore.  
The RVNL had started the track doubling work on the stretch from Valadi to Ariyalur covering 50 km in 2011. It was split into two portions — from Valadi to Kallakudi Palanganatham (25 km) and from Kallakudi Palanganatham to Ariyalur (25 km) and works on both stretches commenced simultaneously.  The 50-km Valadi-Ariyalur stretch was taken up for track doubling work as it happened to be a crucial segment on the 178-km Villupuram-Tiruchi chord line section.  
According to the Railway officials, doubling work on the remaining stretch from Kallakudi Palanganatham to Ariyalur is expected to be completed by September. As part of the doubling work, new bridges were under construction across the Cauvery and the Coleroon in Tiruchi.  
The length of the new bridge across the Coleroon would be around 900 metres, while the one across the Cauvery would be 600 metres. Tags: Railway project in kerala, Kallakudi Palanganatham, Dindigul-Villupuram project, railway bridges, Tiruchi-Ariyalur, Rail Vikas Nigam Limited