South Central Railway (SCR) has entered into an agreement with Krishnapatnam Railway Company limited (KRCL) for operations & maintenance of a new Railway line between Krishnapatnam – Obulavaripalle for a distance of 119 Kms. Accordingly, an agreement was signed in the presence of Shri Gajanan Mallya, General Manager, SCR between Shri G. John Prasad Principal Chief Commercial Manager, SCR and Shri K. Siva Prasad, Managing director, KRCL on 08th November, 2021 at Rail Nilayam, Secunderabad.
- Shri R. Dhananjayulu, Principal Chief Operations Manager, SCR and Dr. B.S Christopher, Chief Commercial Manager (Freight Services), SCR were also present on the occasion.
- The Grand Trunk line between Vijayawada – Gudur is a busy and over-saturated Railway line with continuous movement of passenger & freight traffic.
- The freight trains from & to Krishnapatnam Port towards West Coast areas of the Country like Mumbai etc., were earlier operated via Gudur, Renigunta.
- Due to heavy movement of freight trains, the section was fully congested leading to detention of the trains.
- To mitigate this problem and to enhance the loading from Krishnapatnam Port, a new Railway line project was sanctioned between Krishnapatnam Port – Obulavaripalle.
- This project was executed through Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) viz., Krishnapatnam Railway Company limited (KRCL) consisting of Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL), Krishnapatnam Port Limited (KPCL) (now called as Adani Krishnapatnam Port Limited – AKPL), Government of Andhra Pradesh, Sagar Mala Development Corporation Limited (SDCL), National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) and Brahmani Steels.
- The entire Railway line was successfully completed and the last stretch between Obulavaripalle – Venkatachalam including the longest electrified tunnel of 6.6 Kms length was commissioned in July, 2019.
- Krishnapatnam Port – Venkatachalam – Obulavaripalle new railway line project provides vital rail connectivity between two major rail routes and reduces distance by 72 kms for the trains coming from Guntakal Division to Krishnapatnam and reduces traffic density in Obulavaripalle – Renigunta – Gudur section.
- The new Railway line helps to decongest the section and provides seamless movement of freight trains towards Rayalaseema, districts of Andhra Pradesh, North Karnataka and West Coast region.
- The new line also helps in socio-economic growth of the hinterland areas.
- The Operations & Maintenance agreement signed pertains to the entire length of 119 Kms connecting Krishnapatnam Railway station to Obulavaripalle Railway station.
- Shri Gajanan Mallya, General Manager, SCR expressed his satisfaction on the exchange of agreement with KRCL.
- He stated that the signing of agreement for operation and maintenance of the new Railway line between Krishnapatnam – Obulavaripalle helps in improving freight traffic from Krishnapatnam Port and also assists in easing the traffic on Vijayawada – Gudur Main line.
Source: South Central Railway-Press Release
