In a major relief for thousands of passengers travelling on long-distance and suburban trains, Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has accorded approval for the construction of a fourth Railway Line between Tambaram and Chengalpattu.The 30.02-km-long line, which is estimated to cost Rs 757.18 crore, will be taken up at the earliest, said the Southern Railway.
âThe new railway line would be with a maximum permissible speed of 160 kmph. All the new lines, especially in high density network (HDN) routes, are laid with the same speed,â said a senior railway official.
Presently, the Tambaram-Chengalpattu section is a three-line stretch on the Chennai Beach â Villupuram â Tiruchchirappalli – Kanyakumari mainline, serving both suburban and long-distance mail/express trains. Due to its heavy utilisation carrying suburban, Mail/Express, and freight traffic, the section experiences frequent congestion, impacting punctuality and capacity expansion, the national transporter said.