Kerala - Kollam   

Punalur-Shencottah gauge conversion to begin in May

KOLLAM: Gauge conversion work in the 49-km Punalur-Shencottah ghat section, coming under the Madurai Division of the Southern Railway, is expected to begin in May.

According to Railway sources, a Rs.320-crore estimate for the work has been submitted to the railway authorities at Chennai. After the account clearance procedure, the estimate will be forwarded to the Railway Board for the final clearance.

The Punalur-Shencottah gauge conversion work is part of the Virudhunagar-Thenkasi-Thirunelveli/Thiruchendur gauge conversion project.

The actual gauge conversion work will be along the 41-km ghat section from Punalur to Bhagawathipuram in Tamil Nadu. The Punalur-Shencottah section is part of the Kollam-Shencottah line.

The gauge conversion work in the Punalur-Kollam section is nearing completion. The ghat section had to be taken up separately because of the sharp curves, steep gradients and tunnels.The Punalur-Aryankavu ghat section has portions bordered by forest areas coming under the Thenmala and Aryankavu Forest Ranges of Kerala.

But Railways have enough land under their ownership to go ahead with the gauge conversion work without touching the forest areas.

In the gauge conversion project, the gradients will be retained. But the alignment will change at the curves in a manner that will be suitable for accommodating broad gauge rolling stock.

The tunnels will also have to be widened.

There is also a proposal for new buildings for all the eight railway stations in the section, the sources said.

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