Construction of the third line between Itarsi and Budhni on West Central Railway’s key South-North route is finally complete, according to sources in the zone. The 25 km tripling project was sanctioned in the railway budget of 2012-13. WCR has targeted commissioning of the line by the end of April 2019.
Loco Trials were conducted yesterday, 3rd April 2019. A diesel locomotive, WDG-3A 14988 from New Katni Jn shed was used for the trial. Two more trials are expected to be conducted with electric locos soon. An inspection by the Commissioner for Railway Safety (CRS) will follow.
Once approval from the CRS is received, the line will be put into revenue service, according to officials.
A key feature of the project is the construction of the third single line bridge on the Narmada river north of Hoshangabad town. With the construction of the bridge recently completed, trials could finally be conducted.
The third line should help reduce congestion at Itarsi by speeding up dispatch of trains from the station towards the North. This, combined with the upcoming bypass at Itarsi should help the station handle more trains with commercial stoppages at the station over the next few years.
Tripling of the section is part of a larger project of tripling much of the New Delhi – Chennai trunk route. Work on tripling has been sanctioned and is underway for many sections on this route over the past several railway budgets.
Tripling work is currently ongoing on the following sections:
Bhopal – Barkheda
Barkheda – Budhni ghat section
Itarsi – Nagpur, including Dharakoh – Maramjhiri / Teegaon – Chichonda ghat section
Sewagram – Kazipet
Work on