BENGALURU: The Commissioner of Rail Safety has completed inspection of the 33-km stretch between Lachyan in South Western Railway Zone and Hotgi in Central Railway. The track passes through the bridge over Bhima, the longest bridge in the zone.
However, due to the Covid outbreak, yard remodelling work by Central Railway could not be completed, and the section cannot be commissioned yet. Chief Administrative Officer, SWR, KC Swami told TNIE that this segment forms part of the 284-km doubling project on the Hotgi-Kudgi-Gadag line. “The longest bridge in SWR, the Bhima river bridge that connects Karnataka with Maharashtra, too falls under this project. One railway track on the bridge is ready,” he said.
The green signal for commissioning the project depends on completion of remodelling of a yard at the Central Railway end. “The workforce could not go ahead with work due to the coronavirus crisis. Though we are ready from our end, commissioning depends on completion of the yard,” Swami added. National Thermal Power Corporation funded construction of a portion of the bridge as it will benefit enormously when the bridge is ready, he added.
The 680-metre railway bridge, stated to be an engineering accomplishment, will connect Vijayapura with Solapur, and is set to boost goods traffic between the two states. One part of the Rs 90-crore bridge was to be commissioned by March-end, and the other by June-end. “When commissioned, the existing bridge can be permanently shut,” Swami added.
Meanwhile, Indian Railways has appealed to public with pre-existing medical conditions to avoid travelling by trains unless absolutely necessary. This is in light of the people who died in the Shramik Special trains.
Deputy General Manager, South Western Railways, E Vijaya said, “No unfortunate incidents have happened in trains that originated from the South. Since we are in the midst of a pandemic, we appeal to passengers with co-morbidites not to travel.”