Twin Railway under Bridges near Mahakalipadpu to get completed by February: Southern Railway

Southern Railway's Palakkad Division aims to complete twin Railway under Bridge project by February, using innovative construction methods.

Despite the fact that the work on the second vent of the Railway under Bridge (RuB) beneath Shoranur-Mangaluru Central line, as a part of the twin RuB to eliminate Mahakalipadpu Railway Level Crossing was yet to commence, Southern Railway’s Palakkad Division was confident of completing the twin RuB project by February next.

“All these days, preparatory works to construct the vent, including micro-piling, had been done. The vent would be constructed through box pushing method instead of the conventional excavation method adopted for the first vent beneath the Mangaluru Central line,” said Divisional Railway Manager Arun Kumar Chaturvedi. During the Railway works review meeting conducted by Capt. Brijesh Chowta, MP, last month, the Division had said the work gets completed by January.

Mr. Chaturvedi told The Hindu that a massive rock formation was found at the worksite that needs to be removed through controlled blasting. He reiterated that the twin RuB project was not an ordinary one, but one with many technical challenges. It has to be executed between two busy railway lines keeping in mind the safety of the Netravathi Cabin nearby. Also, the RuB boxes were massive, in terms of width (about 10 metres) and height (7 metres).

Three each of such nine-metre-long prefabricated boxes were already pushed beneath the Mangaluru Junction line. With adequate men and machinery in place and all preparatory works were completed, erecting another vent by pushing three more such boxes beneath the Mangaluru Central line should not take more time, Mr. Chaturvedi said. The first vent of this section was constructed using a conventional excavation method after placing girders to support the rails while trains were being operated at a reduced speed of 30 kmph.

Mangaluru Smart City Ltd., (MSCL) which executes the 1078 metre four-lane road project at an estimated cost of ₹50 crore, meanwhile, said it would give the finishing touches to the connecting roads while the Railways completes the work on the remaining vent.

The then MP Nalin Kumar Kateel had laid the foundation stone for the project in March 2021; the existing Morgan’s Gate-Jeppinamogaru (Jeppu Patna) Road connecting Panvel-Kochi National Highway 66 near Netravathi Bridge was closed in December 2022 and the Deputy Commissioner issued consent letter to close the existing Mahakalipadpu Level Crossing after commissioning of the RuBs in December 2023. Vehicular traffic on this busy stretch thus has severely been affected for the last two years.

Sources said Railway safety officials expressed serious concern over using 26 metre long girders during earth excavation beneath the Mangaluru Central line from January this year. To avoid safety risks, box pushing method was being adopted for the second vent, they added.