BHUBANESWAR: The on-going electrification work of Lanjigarh Road-Junagarh and Naupada-Gunupur branch lines under the jurisdiction of East Coast Railway (ECoR) will be completed soon.
The Ministry of Railways had allotted Rs 62 crore for the 56-km Lanjigarh Road-Junagarh line of Vizianagaram-Titilagarh-Raipur route and Rs 105 crore for the 90-km Naupada-Gunupur line of Howrah-Chennai route.
An ECoR official said works of both the projects are going on war-footing and the electrification of railway lines is expected to be completed by end of December. "After completion of railway electrification, trains with electric locomotives will ply on electricity instead of diesel locomotives on both the branch lines soon after trial runs. It will not only improve the speed of trains but also reduce the fuel cost minimising the expenditure," he informed.
Recently, electrification works on the main line sections under Sambalpur Railway Division including Jharsuguda-Sambalpur, Sambalpur-Angul, Sambalpur-Titilagarh, Titilagarh-Singapur Road and Titilagarh-Raipur section have been completed.
The railway lines between Belsonda-Komakhan-Khariar Road in Titilagarh-Raipur section are being electrified and the work will be completed by the end of this month. Meanwhile, electrification work on Khurda Road-Balangir section in the on-going railway project has been started. While both the sides of the railway line will be electrified, Rs 265 crore will be spent for the 289-km railway line.
The ECoR has appealed locals and vehicle owners to remain extra careful while passing through the energised railway lines after the expected commissioning on December 31.