Trichy Division of SR embarks on massive beautification

Tiruchirapalli, Nov 3: Tiruchirapalli Division of Southern Railway (SR) has embarked on a massive beautification drive in various railway stations in the division, Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) R C Jat said today.

Addressing a press meet here, Mr Jat said as part of the drive, beautification of circulation areas, improvement to waiting halls, conversion of retiring room to star class, better surface to platform to enable mechanical cleaning, electronic display of train arrival, modern and improved lighting and provision of touch screens would be done in Tiruchirapalli, Thanjavur, Kumbakonam, Villupuram, Puducherry, Vridhachalam, Mayavaram, Tiruvannamalai, Tiruvarur and Ariyalur railway stations.

Provision of air-conditioned dormitories and delux toilets would be constructed in a few select railway stations and other passenger amenities would be created. A sum of Rs 21 crore had been sanctioned.

He said the much-awaited electrification of the 178 km long Villupuram-Tiruchirapalli section would be completed by March 2008 at an estimated cost of Rs 96.66 crore. Before the end of March 2007, electrification work between Villupuram and Vridhachalam would be completed. The central organisation was carrying out the entire electrification work for Railway Electrification (CORE), Allahabad.

He said gauge conversion in the Mayavaram-Villupuram section, undertaken with an outlay of Rs 277 crore by the Rail Vikas Nigam Lt (RVNL) would be completed by January 2008. The project includes 32 major bridges, 274 minor bridges, 51 manned gates and 56 unmanned gates. To facilitate completion of the work, train traffic in this section would remain closed from December 1, 2006.

Similarly, the gauge conversion of Vridhachalam-Athur to a stretch of 83.5 km at an outlay of Rs 105 crore and the Athur-Salem to a distance of 56 km at a cost of Rs 62 crore would be completed by March 2007. The Tiruchirapalli-Pudukkottai gauge conversion work, which was delayed for various reasons, would be energised by the middle of December, 2006.

The Indian Railways had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the State Bank of India (SBI) to start ATMs in Puducherry, Tiruchirapalli, Mayiladuthurai, Thanjavur, Chidambaram and Villupuram. The ATMs would be commissioned in two months and in future, they would be enabled with facility to reserve and take tickets by rail users.

On the performance of Tiruchirapalli Division in the first seven months of the current year (till October end), he said the division had earned Rs 60.7 crore as passenger earnings and Rs 69.7 crore as freight earnings. The total earnings target of this division was fixed at Rs 273 crore this year (2006-07) and hopefully it would be achieved.

UNI