Padil-Kulashekar double line section commissioned in Mangaluru

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangaluru, Mar 21, 2022: The double line section between Padil and Kulashekara including the new tunnel (Tunnel No. 4B) was certified fit and commissioned by the railways at 2.50am on Monday in Mangaluru city.

 

 

 

 

 

The service of Train No.12618 Nizamuddin - Ernakulam Junction  Mangala Lakshadweep Express passed through the newly commissioned double line section at 3.34 am in the down direction, while the Train No. 12617 Ernakulam Junction - Nizamuddin Mangala  Lakshadweep Express passed through the newly commissioned up line and a new tunnel at 3.41 am  in the up direction, said a release from the Southern Railway.

Southern Railway took four hours of work for three days from 17th March 2022 to 19th March 2022  for the disconnection work and on the final day 11 hrs work for cut and connection work and signal interlocking.

On completion of work,  the new Electronic Interlocking panel became functional at Padil Station at  2.00 am  today (21.03.2022). With the completion of doubling work, the  Jokkatte - Padil double line section came into existence and the temporary operational station maintained at  Kulashekhara got eliminated.

On completion of the work, trains services from /to Mangaluru and trains passing through Mangaluru are now following the normal train schedule.

Benefits of Padil - Kulasekhara doubling:

Padil - Kulasekhara doubling work for a length of 2.26 Km (including a new tunnel of 780 m on the Up line) is the 4th and final stage of 19 km patch doubling work between Mangaluru Junction and Panambur.  

With the doubling of the Padil-Kulasekhara section, a  bottleneck in train operations due to the presence of a short single line section (2.26 km) will get eliminated.

With the commissioning of the Double line in the Padil -Kulasekhara section, Railway can efficiently utilize Mangaluru Junction - Jokatte - Panambur section.

At present, coaching trains are frequently held up at Mangaluru Junction and Jokkatte for want of passage, especially when trains are running out of path (running late). Freight trains are to be moved in between the coaching trains whenever a path is available. Hence freight trains are now frequently detained at Panambur and Jokkatte stations. With the introduction of doubling, detention to these freight trains will also be minimized.

The new infrastructure will ease the operation of both passenger carrying and freight trains.

About Tunnel No.4B:

This is the fourth railway tunnel in the  Palakkad Division jurisdiction. (Other than the  existing tunnel in  Kulashekara, The other two tunnels are on the up and down line  between  Kasargod - Kottikulam.)  The tunnel is 780 metres in length and 6.18 metres in breadth. The height of the tunnel is 6.8 metres.  Conventional drill and blast methods have been used for tunneling. The project cost is approximately Rs. 70 Crore.