In a major thrust towards mission electrification, South Central Railway (SCR) has achieved a significant milestone by completing the 100% electrification of the erstwhile Broad Gauge rail network in Nanded Division, except those rail lines which have been recently converted to broad gauge from metre gauge.
More Details:
South Central Railway has been electrifying its entire BG railway lines across its network on a war footing basis. As part of it, the Manmad – Mudkhed – Dhone project has been successfully completed by the Zone. The final non-electrified railway line between Mirkhal-Maltekdi for a distance of 43.3 route kilometres has been electrified as part of this Project.
With the completion of this final stretch of 934 RKM Electrification project, the Nanded Division in Maharashtra state achieves a milestone, as 100% of its erstwhile Broad Gauge rail lines are now electrified, except those rail lines which have been recently converted into broad gauge from metre gauge.
Significance of the Project:
- The Manmad Mudkhed section over SCR is the critical rail link in Marathwada region connecting Western parts of the country with the Southern part of the nation.
- This section connects the Marathwada region with the financial capital, Mumbai, in the west; important towns like Hyderabad, Bengaluru, and Chennai in the south; and Nagpur and Bilaspur in the east.
- Considering its importance, sanction has been accorded for the Electrification of Manmad – Mudkhed section as part of the Manmad – Mudkhed – Dhone electrification project.
- This project was sanctioned in the year 2015-16 for a distance of 783 kms at an estimated cost of Rs 865 Crores. Electrification of the entire section has been commissioned in different stretches.
Enhance Connectivity:
- The project covers Maharashtra, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh and is being executed in different phases.
- The length of the project in Telangana is approximately 406 Kms between Dharmabad Kurnool City (excluding Manoharabad – Mahabubnagar), the section between Kurnool – Dhone for a distance of 54 Kms falls in Andhra Pradesh.
- The section between Manmad – Mudkhed broadly falls in the Marathwada region and is part of the Maharashtra State covering a distance of 406 kms.
- The entire project has been now successfully completed facilitating seamless movement of trains.
- This also marks 100% completion of electrification of all rail projects being done by Central Organisation for Railway Electrification (CORE) in SCR.
Benefits of the Project:
- The electrification of rail lines helps in providing seamless movement of trains by avoiding change of traction power. It also reduces enroute detention of both the coaching and freight trains leading to improvement in the average speed of trains.
- It has the potential to introduce more trains in these sections due to the enhancement of sectional capacity. It is also an environment-friendly means of powering the trains, while simultaneously saving fuel costs.
Conclusion:
This project’s completion not only enhances connectivity but also reduces enroute detention of trains, improves average train speeds, and introduces more trains due to enhanced sectional capacity. Additionally, electrification is an environmentally friendly and cost-effective solution, aligning with sustainable transportation goals.
Source: SCR – Press Release | Images Credit: South Central Railway
