The double line section between Padil and Kulashekara including the new tunnel (Tunnel No. 4B) was certified fit and commissioned by the railways at 2.50 am on Monday.
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 and the service of 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.
With the completion of doubling work, the Jokkatte – Padil double line section came into existence and the temporary operational station maintained at Kulashekhar is eliminated, stated Southern Railway, Palakkad Division. The Padil – Kulasekhar doubling work for a length of 2.26 km (including a new tunnel of 780 m on the up line) is the fourth and final stage of 19 km patch doubling work between Mangalore Junction and Panambur.
With this, a bottleneck in train operations due to the presence of a short single line section (2.26 km) will get eliminated and the railway can efficiently utilize Mangalore 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 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.
Tunnel No.4B: The new Tunnel(No.4B) is the highlight of the project. This is the fourth railway tunnel in the Palakkad division jurisdiction. 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 method has been used for tunnelling with approximately Rs 70 crore for the project.
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