Southern Railway to increase average speed of trains under Thiruvananthapuram division

Southern Railway's Thiruvananthapuram division to increase train speeds by upgrading loop lines and switches, improving safety and punctuality.

The average speed of trains running under the Thiruvananthapuram division of Southern Railway will be increased significantly with the railways taking up a slew of measures to increase the average speed of trains. As part of this, a decision has been taken to adopt maintenance standards of the main line for the loop line also. This is expected to benefit around 31 stations in the first phase.

Further, it has been decided that existing switches in the tracks will be replaced with thick web switches (TWS). The TWS has a more robust design and is amenable to speeds up to 50 kmph, said railway authorities.

A divisional-level review meeting held here discussed the operational constraints of many of these identified stations where the main platform/platform-1 is situated on the loop line. The railway safety guidelines, as per layout, allow a lower speed while traversing the loop line, as compared to the main line. Upgrading the loop lines to the main line standards will allow the railways to speed up the average speed of trains at these stations, said the authorities.

It is targeted that loop lines will be upgraded to the main line standards before September. The remaining stations under the division will be taken up in the second phase, and the work of upgrading the loop line is expected to be complete before the stipulated target date, said officials. Similarly, a specialised track machine known as the AMECA T-28 has been deployed in the division to replace the switches with new thick web switches.

About 70 thick web switches have already been inserted in tracks, and it is planned to install 100 in the coming months. Further, the work on introducing the automatic block signalling along with the renewal of rails to 60 kg type is already in place. The Division has already upgraded the maximum permissible speed of trains in the various sections by easing out curves. In the current scenario, the exercise is limited to those curves that can be eased without the acquisition of land.

Upgrading the maintenance standard loop lines to that of main lines and replacing existing switches with TWS coupled with easing out curves, will help a greater number of trains in achieving the maximum permissible speed, thereby improving both safety and punctuality, said the railway authorities. At present, the trains have been operating at a maximum speed in the range of 100-110 km/h in the Thiruvananthapuram-Mangaluru stretch, except in the Ernakulam-Shoranur stretch, where the maximum speed of trains is restricted to 80 km per hour now.

Besides, there are permanent speed restrictions at some places where the adoption of newer technologies as well as improved maintenance standards will allow the railways to utilise the permissible maximum speed for trains.