SCR floats tenders for 523 km ‘Kavach’ between Wadi-Guntakal- Renigunta section

SCR floats tenders for 523 km ‘Kavach’ between Wadi-Guntakal- Renigunta section

The South Central Railway (SCR) has floated tenders for the execution of the Indigenous Automatic Train Protection system or ‘Kavach’ between Wadi - Guntakal - Renigunta, for a distance of 523 km, said General Manager Arun Kumar Jain during the Independence Day celebrations at the Railway Recreation Grounds in Secunderabad on Thursday.

The zone is already implementing the safety device on about 1,465 km in Wadi-Vikarabad-Sanatnagar and Vikarabad-Bidar sections covering 133 stations, 29 level crossings gates and 150 locomotives.

Mr. Kumar also announced that track renewal has been completed to the extent of 251 km between April–July 2024 and asserted that top priority is being accorded to the safety of train operations on a ‘zero’ tolerance basis. Precautionary measures are being taken at vulnerable locations and bridges to effectively tackle the adverse situations in monsoon period.

The originating passenger traffic in the last four months was 88 million and the revenue from this segment has been ₹1,956 crore. About 46.25 million tonnes of freight loading has been registered until July and it generated freight revenue of ₹4,611 crore. The gross originating revenue between April and July has seen a jump of 3% touching ₹6,894 crore, when compared with the same period in last fiscal, he said.

Stating that the thrust area of the SCR is infrastructure augmentation, Mr. Jain said a record track addition of 415 km was done last year to the network and in this current financial year, 55 km of third line works were completed. Electrification has been completed by 93% covering almost all main routes and under the ‘Amrit Bharat Station Scheme’, works are in progress with an estimated cost of ₹6,243 crore at 119 railway stations which were identified for redevelopment.

The General Manager informed that to meet the demands of the extra rush of passengers during the holiday season and summer season, 271 special trains were operated and 3,866 coaches were attached to popular trains in the current financial year till July. About 896 kWp rooftop solar plants at seven stations were also commissioned, he said.

On the security front, the top official said that the security personnel have rescued 503 children during the current fiscal and the RPF had recovered stolen belongings of rail users worth ₹1 crore, besides securing leftover belongings of different passengers on 918 occasions, which is around ₹2 crore, he added.