Newly doubled line between Shadnagar-Gollapalli rail line completed

 In a major achievement for the South Central Railway (SCR) in enhancing rail connectivity between Hyderabad and cities such as Mahabubnagar, Bengaluru and Tirupati towards south, the doubling of railway line between Shadnagar and Gollapalli was completed and commissioned on Wednesday.

This is part of the Secunderabad-Mahabubnagar doubling and electrification project being executed by Rail Vikas Nigam Limited. The project was sanctioned for a distance of 85 km in 2015-16 at an estimated cost of Rs 774 crore.

While the section between Secunderabad-Umdanagar was taken up as part of the MMTS Phase I & II, the doubling and electrification works in balance section, Umdanagar-Mahabubnagar has been progressing at a fast pace. Now, the completion of the 29-km stretch of the newly doubled line between Shadnagar-Gollapalli is a major milestone in the doubling project.

As part of the project, Shadnagar, Gollapalli and Balanagar station yards have been remodelled to incorporate additional running lines. The modern station building was provided with improved passenger amenities like well-planned circulating area, booking concourse, convenient platforms, foot-over-bridges and drinking water provision, among others.

According to officials, the track has been designed to handle 25-tonne axle loads with a speed potential of 130 km per hour. “Three



major bridges with PSC girders and 52 minor bridges with RCC boxes have been constructed. Four manned LC gates have been eliminated by constructing RUBs while another six LC gates were upgraded to electronic operation for enhanced safety,” they said.

The energy conservation measures have been given prime importance with installation of 100 per cent LED lighting. A state-of-the-art signalling and telecommunication features have been provided in the entire section, which includes electronic interlocking with centralised architecture.

Officials said dedicated 24 optic fibre cables and six quad cables were laid throughout the section for reliable communication and signalling. The signal maintainer’s rooms were designed in such a way to ensure easy access of technical information in case of any failures, to minimise shutdown time and improve work ambiance, the officials added.

In addition, for the first time ever in the SCR, video surveillance has also been included for relay room, station yards and interlocked level-crossing gates in the section to keep a tab on safety and security of prime railway areas.

Gajanan Mallya, General Manager, SCR, said the dedication by the railway staff towards completion of the project during the pandemic duly maintaining the Covid-19 protocol was highly appreciable.