Central Railway pushes Rs 140cr third line project in ghat section

NAGPUR: Even as the third railway line project between Nagpur and Wardha is in limbo, the Nagpur Central Railway has proposed third line in rugged terrain of Dharakho-Maramzari and Chichonda-Tigaon between Nagpur and Itarsi.
The Rs140 crore project forwarded by the Nagpur division was okayed by the Mumbai-based headquarters and sent to the Railway Board last month. As part of the project, 13km line will be laid between Dharakho and Maramzari and 17km between Chichonda and Tigaon, both routes lie in the ghat section.
Both these stretches are considered to be one of the toughest routes across the Indian Railways, yet played an important role in its expansion. While the eastern and western parts of the country were connected with the railways comparatively faster, it took time to connect the north and the south. One of the biggest challenges was the Satpuda ranges between Nagpur and Itarsi stations, through which tracks had to be laid in order to expand the railway.
When contacted, Central Railway public relations officer (PRO) PD Patil confirmed the project is at a proposal stage and a final go-ahead by the Railway Board will only tell about how the route is going to be worked out. The third line between both places will stop detention of trains and enhance passenger safety.
The proposal was first conceptualized by the then chief operations manager (COM) RD Tripathi who is now additional general manager of Central Railway. It was being worked out since last year but was forwarded by DRM OP Singh last month considering increase in freight and passenger traffic.
Senior divisional operating manager (SrDOM) Atul Rane said the project, if implemented, will help improve efficiency and punctuality of trains. “The line between Chichonda-Tigaon and Dharakho-Maramzari either way is steep and trains are pushed by bunkers. This takes time but the third line will remove all bottlenecks,” said Rane.
“It will be a rare kind of work but once in place, the third line will also be helpful in case of any eventuality. Any mishap in the section means diverting trains via Wardha, Akola, Bhusawal and Itarsi. This is not only time consuming but also increases financial burden, says Rane.
As it is both, freight and passenger traffic in Nagpur Central Railway is increasing substantially but the division is grappling with line capacity. In the last seven months, Nagpur division recorded a revenue of Rs1,529.34 crore. Of this, Rs1,231.64 crore comes from freight while Rs259.73 crore from passenger traffic. This is a jump by 20% as compared to last year.
DRM Singh admits that freight and passenger traffic in the Nagpur-Amla-Itarsi section is increasing. The third line in Chichonda and Dharakho areas will ease congestion and improve efficiency.
Owing to the experience of third line between Nagpur and Wardha and doubling between Kalamna and Nagpur, work on which has not started despite sanction of funds, will the fresh proposal see light of the day is a difficult proposition. Presently, over 150 trains operate daily between Nagpur and Wardha exhausting the line capacity.