Vijayawada: 69 km of doubled railway line commissioned

Vijayawada: In a major boost to the rail connectivity to the people of Krishna and West Godavari districts with North Coastal Andhra and the states of West Bengal, Odisha and is southern neighbours, the Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd (RVNL) has completed and commissioned 69 km of doubling of railway line between Uppaluru-Gudivada-Moturu and Gudivada-Machilipatnam on Thursday.

The newly commissioned double rail line section forms part of the Vijayawada-Gudivada-Bhimavaram-Narsapur, Gudivada-Machilipatnam and Narsapur-Nidadavolu doubling and electrification project being executed at a cost of Rs 3,000 crore by South Central Railway (SCR).

Plans for the project were formalised by the rail ministry and work was entrusted to RVNL, the public sector undertaking of the ministry. Accordingly, the project execution was taken up in different phases. Out of the total length of 221 km of the project, 124 km is now completed and commissioned on Thursday. The balance of 97 km work is due for completion by mid-2021.

This new line holds huge potential to ignite the economy of the central coastal belt of Andhra Pradesh state. Business activity in the entire hinterland of the region, ranging from agriculture to aqua culture will get a big boost with access to various markets becoming more easy and convenient. Passenger train connectivity will also increase to various destinations towards Rajahmundry, Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada, Guntur, Nellore, Tirupati, etc., in the state.

Long distance travel towards cities as Chennai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Kolkata will also becomes more convenient.

Yet another major benefit is, the project will pave way for a reliable alternative rail route to main line between Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam, which can be used in the event of any disturbance to train services on account of natural calamities like cyclones and heavy rains, the region is prone for.