SWR’s Myuru Division undertakes several major safety works on Sakleshpur-Subrahmanya Road Ghat section

Last week, Divisional Railway Manager of South Western Railway’s Mysuru Division Shilpi Agarwal inspected the 56 km Ghat stretch between Sakleshpur and Subrahmanya Road Stations after the Division executed several special safety works, including dynamic rock fall barrier installation, boulder netting, rehabilitation of bridges etc., in April.

Last week, Divisional Railway Manager of South Western Railway’s Mysuru Division Shilpi Agarwal inspected the 56 km Ghat stretch between Sakleshpur and Subrahmanya Road Stations after the Division executed several special safety works, including dynamic rock fall barrier installation, boulder netting, rehabilitation of bridges etc., in April.

Undertaken ahead of the monsoon, the inspection was carried out along with senior officials from the engineering, operations, safety, signal and telecommunication, electrification and electrical departments. The ghat section had witnessed over 98 landslips during the 2018 torrential rainfall and had to be closed for more than 45 days for train traffic. The Division thereafter took up several safety works till March 2024-end.

The inspection focussed on evaluating the vulnerability of the Ghat section that also comprises 57 tunnels and 234 minor and major bridges.

Imported dynamic rock fall barriers were installed at five locations along the section to mitigate the risk of rock fall while vulnerable cuttings at five locations were reinforced with rock bolting and boulder netting to prevent boulder fall incidents, said a release.

Critical bridge nos. 138, 150, 159 and 228 underwent extensive rehabilitation, including provision of ventway extensions, re-banking, sub-bank provision, and improvements to collection chambers while major bridge 212 was rehabilitated with foundation jacketing, provision of RCC side drains and gabion walls. Some other major bridges were strengthened through RCC jacketing to enhance their structural integrity.

All side drains and ventways of major and minor bridges were cleaned and desilted to ensure smooth water flow. Additionally, 43 damaged minor bridges were repaired. Weak trees posing a risk of falling onto the track were removed while critical and weak cuttings were stabilized by removing excess overburden.

During the safety work, restrooms in the section were upgraded and portable cabins were installed at vulnerable locations to host watchmen. Various drainage systems, including catch water drains, garland drains, and new drains were constructed to manage water flow effectively and nearly 4,800 m of new drains were constructed in the Ghat section.