One of the most frequently used rail routes by the passengers is Chennai to Coimbatore and Chennai to Bengaluru route. A bottleneck has been removed by the southern railways in Jolarpettai junction. Now, the travel time between Chennai to Coimbatore and Chennai to Bengaluru would be reduced by 20 minutes.
It must be noted that a bend on the railway track and a diamond crossing that slowed down the trains by 15 kmph have been removed by the railways department. Point is when the train services start once again trains would be able to pass through Jolarpettai junction at speed of 110 kmph.
Important information collected is elimination of 3 diamond crossings of the tracks plus conversion of 2 reverse curves into simple curves and up-gradation of 4 km railway yard were carried out by the railways in this lock down period. These are 3 major works that would increase the train speed.
It was mentioned by a railways official that on 14th May the work to remodel began and it was completed on 21st May. He added that this stretch handles about 190 trains everyday and is one of the busiest railway junctions present in the south. The railways official later highlighted that there won’t be need for speed restriction along the stretch. Truth is lock down and suspension of trains have been utilized for the purpose of these works.
Switching to modern and safer electronic interlocking electronic system has been carried out by the railways. It is now said that a train wouldn’t be able to cross the signal unless the line is clear and safe. By isolating the yard line, railways had made provision to receive and dispatch trains at the same time to Bengaluru. Faster movement of the trains could also be brought about by the renewal of 42 main signals and 24 subsidiary signals.