Andhra Pradesh – The Ministry of Railways on Thursday shared the video of the speed trial for the third line between Karavadi-Surareddipalem. In a post on X, formally known as Twitter, the ministry stated that the speed trial was conducted with electrification and was successfully completed. 

Earlier this month, the South Central Railway (SCR) Zone completed and commissioned a 20.3 km-long section of electrified third line between Karavadi and Surareddipalem in Andhra Pradesh as part of its thrust towards infrastructural development through track doubling and tripling projects. The new section which is located in the Prakasam district falls under the Vijayawada-Gudur tripling and electrification project, which is a major railway project in the southern state. 

“A riveting speed trial for the third line between Karavadi-Surareddipalem with electrification was successfully completed, showcasing infra development in Andhra Pradesh,” the Ministry of Railways wrote on X, formally known as Twitter. The ministry also shared the video of the train, zooming through the green southern field. Situated on the Grand Trunk route along the coastal region of Andhra Pradesh, the section between Vijayawada and Gudur plays a crucial role in connecting the northern and eastern parts of India with the southern states. “With the tripling of this stretch now a continuous stretch of 81 km between Bapatla and Surareddipalem will have third line facility along with electrification,” said an SCR Zone official in a press release.

A crucial project

The Vijayawada and Gudur have already become more congested with a steady rise of passenger and freight trains, which will be decongested by the third line project sanctioned in 2015-16 for a length of 288 km and Rs 3,246 crore. Being executed by Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd (RVNL) simultaneously across all the stretches, so far, the sections between Gudur-Singarayakonda (127 km) and Bapatla-Karavadi (62 km) have been completed and commissioned. With the completion of the Karavadi-Surrareddipalem section, located in the middle of Vijayawada and Gudur, a total of 209 km stretch now stands electrified with a third line. SCR Zone general manager Arun Kumar Jain noted that the completion of the Vijayawada – Gudur tripling and electrification project will help decongest the existing saturated Grand Trunk route to ease operation. 

(With inputs from PTI)