Complete Track Renewal after five decades inside Kulashekara old tunnel to improve train operations in Mangaluru region
The Hindu
The speed of trains was restricted to 20 kmph in the old tunnel built in 1965 for meter gauge line that was converted to broad gauge in 1992
The complete track renewal (CTR) work being undertaken in the Kulashekara old tunnel on the Mangaluru-Mumbai Railway Line will considerably improve operation of trains — coaching (passenger) as well as freight — in and around Mangaluru Railway Region upon its completion in March first week, say Railway engineers.
CTR in the old tunnel was being undertaken after the commissioning of the second tunnel in March last year. Southern Railway’s Palakkad Divisional Railway Manager Trilok Kothari had said CTR would be done at the earliest to derive the maximum benefit from both the tunnels to reduce congestion at Mangaluru Junction.
Constructed in 1965 for a meter gauge line that was converted to broad gauge in 1992, the 600 metre Kulashekara tunnel initially constructed to connect New Mangalore Port had not undergone any major maintenance as well as CTR so far, said Vijay Sundar, Additional Divisional Engineer in Mangaluru.
Though new rails and sleepers were laid during the gauge conversion done on deposit work when Konkan Railway Corporation Ltd. (KRCL) laid the lines north of Jokatte, ballast change and other maintenance works appear not to have been done. Consequently, trains were running at reduced speed of 20 kmph through the tunnel. After March 2022, the additional tunnel was being used for up-trains (towards Mumbai) and the old one for down-trains (towards Mangaluru Junction/Padil).
Trains could run up to 80 kmph speed once the CTR gets completed by March first week thus saving five to eight minutes of running time, Mr. Sundar said. The Southern Railway was undertaking such a massive exercise perhaps for the first time, he added.
The railwaymen initially shifted the signalling system from the old tunnel to the new one (non-interlocking) for three days in the first week of February. Thereafter, the electric traction was disabled in the old tunnel.
Rails, sleepers and ballasts for the entire length of the track were removed before providing adequate cushioning for ballast, spreading new ballast and laying new sleepers and new rails. As the region was prone to water percolation, adequate drainage lines were being provided, he said.
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