UMDANAGAR

- Part of Secunderabad - Mahabubnagar Doubling & Electrification Project

South Central Railway has been continuously giving thrust towards enhancement of infrastructure, capacity augmentation and safety. As part of it, the zone has accorded highest priority for electrification of all the Railway lines across its network. Accordingly, the Zone has completed electrification of 60 Kms Double line between Umdanagar - Gollapalli. This is a crucial portion in connecting Hyderabad city with major cities such as Kurnool, Anantapur, Bengaluru, Kadapa, Tirupati etc., and down South. The project is being executed by the Railway PSU, Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL).

The Secunderabad – Mahabubnagar Doubling & Electrification project is o­ne of the critical projects for strengthening the rail operations in the state of Telangana. The project was sanctioned for a distance of 85 Kms in 2015-16 at an estimated cost of Rs 774 crores. The section between Secunderabad – Umdanagar for a distance of 28 Kms is excluded in the above project and was undertaken as part of MMTS Phase II and is completed. Doubling & electrification works in the balance section i.e., Umdanagar – Mahabubnagar for a distance of 85 Kms has been undertaken in this project. The project is progressing at a fast pace, with the completion of the Doubling between Umdanagar - Gollapalli for a distance of 60 Kms in two phases. Now, the completion of electrification of this 60 Kms stretch helps in providing seamless connectivity and enhanced travel experience to Rail passengers for a continuous stretch between Secunderabad - Gollapalli for a distance of 88 Kms.

The electrification of these railway lines will significantly strengthen Rail infrastructure in the state of Telangana and provide seamless movement of freight and passenger traffic, besides reducing the enroute detentions. Electrification of railway lines in these sections immensely benefit the Railways in reducing the fuel expenditure, while also promoting energy saving. Electrification of Railway lines is also environment friendly, as it reduces the emission of carbon foot prints.

Shri Gajanan Mallya, General Manager, SCR has complimented the SCR & RVNL officials for successful completion of electrification between Umdanagar – Gollapalli. The General Manager has stated that, SCR is o­n fast track in completing electrification works as envisaged by Railway Ministry and the officials are striving hard to complete the electrification works as per the target in order to provide seamless connectivity across Indian Railways.

South Central Railway celebrated the 75th Independence Day today i.e., 15thAugust 2021, o­n this special occasion of the platinum jubilee (75th) year of the Indian independency, the zone has celebrated “Azaadi ka Amrit Mahotsav” in a grand scale. Shri Gajanan Mallya, General Manager, South Central Railway unfurled the National Flag and received the Guard of Honor at a limited gathering of Railway Officials, Staff, their family members at Railway Sports Complex Ground, Secunderabad. During the programme, Covid-19 protocols have been followed strictly duly maintaining social distancing, wearing masks etc.,

Shri Gajanan Mallya in his address highlighted that Indian Railways by its very nature is connecting people & places across the country truly reflecting the “Unity in Diversity”. It has been a proud partner in the Nation’s Growth, immensely contributing to the success filled journey of Progress. South Central Railway, strengthened by its dedicated workforce, has played an active role in shaping the course of Indian Railways, backed by its commitment to serve with purpose. The General Manager highlighted the major achievements attained by the Zone during the first 4 months of this financial year, despite the challenges posed by COVID-19 pandemic. Effective planning combined with targeted meticulous execution has resulted in the Zone taking forward the growth momentum of SCR across diverse fields.

Shri Gajanan Mallya affirmed that, the continuous importance being given for transporting essential commodities combined with SCR’s continuous foray into new segments has led to the Zone transporting around 2 lakh tonnes of parcels, which is nearly 4 times more than the last year. The concept of “Kisan Rail” introduced to support the Agricultural community has been huge success o­n South Central Railway. Till date, more than 1 lakh tonnes of agricultural commodities have been transported through 355 Kisan specials from the three States of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra in SCR jurisdiction to all over the country. “Doodh Duronto”, started by the Zone to balance the milk supply across the nation, by transporting Milk to the National Capital, has also crossed transportation of 10 crores litres recently. He also stated that SCR has played crucial role in operating Oxygen Express trains, meeting the Medical Oxygen requirement of the States. In the direction, more than 8,000 MT of Liquid Medical Oxygen has been delivered through over 100 Oxygen Express trains for the two States of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

General Manager stated that, though the challenges posed by Covid, the Zone has gradually introduced all the Express trains under SCR jurisdiction as fully reserved Express trains besides re-introduction of Unreserved trains, including the popular suburban MMTS services. As a result, the Zone has transported 19 million passengers during April – July 2021. He also elaborated o­n the safety measures taken by SCR in this current financial year, the track renewal has been carried out

for 115 Kms over the Zone, 17 Manned Level crossings have been eliminated by suitably replacing most of them with Limited Height Subways, 6 Foot over Bridges have been commissioned and works are in progress for 42 FOBs which are to be commissioned shortly. The Indigenously designed Train Collision Avoidance System which was introduced over the Zone, has been extended further to 116 Kms covering 9 stations. In this financial year, introduced Integrated Video Surveillance System (VSS) initially for the first 17 stations of SCR, to monitor security at 3 levels – Station, Division and at Zonal level.

General Manager emphasizing o­n the infrastructure front, the Zone has completed doubling of the crucial section between Umdanagar & Shadnagar, for a distance of 30 Kms, completing a major portion of Secunderabad - Mahabubnagar Doubling project in Telangana. In addition, 18 Kms of Vijayawada - Uppaluru section is doubled and electrified, thereby providing a continuous double line electrified stretch of 145 Kms between Vijayawada - Gudivada - Bhimavaram Town & Gudivada - Machilipatnam in the state of Andhra Pradesh. He also elaborated o­n the initiatives being taken by the Zone towards energy conservation and environment protection.

Shri Gajanan Mallya stated that, each member of our rail family is a dedicated member of the team when it comes to delivering results beyond par. Let us all join hands in the ensuing times to set new goals and reach the pinnacle of success, so that the image of South Central Railway as the torch bearer to the service objectives of Indian Railways, sustains all through, General Manager said.