First electric train between TVM, EKM soon

Thiruvananthapuram, Dec 15 (UNI) The first electric train between Thiruvananthapuram and Ernakulam will start running in a month, for which the Commissioner of Railway Safety gave the approval today.

Addressing newspersons here, Commissioner for Railway Safety, South Zone P K Sen said the authorisation was given and the Southern Railway could run the trains in the Thiruvananthapuram-Ernakulam section.

The authorisation was given after the electrification in the section was found to be satisfactory, he said.

Railway Electrification Chief Project Manager John Thomas said the first train would run by the end or January.

He said only five to six trains would run initially on the section as power was available only from one depot.

Once the other two depots come up, more trains would run, he added.

The commissioning of new section would save about half an hour between Thiruvananthapuam and Ernakulam, Mr Thomas said.

Mr Sen was here for inspecting the Kayamkulam-Kollam and Kollam-Thiruvananthapurm section, on which electrificatiion had been completed.

When asked about extending the electrification of the track to Kanyakumari, he said approval for the proposal was awaited.

UNI PN YA BST1531