Survey for new Railway line from Vijayawada to Amaravati on fast track

Survey for new Railway line from Vijayawada to Amaravati on fast track

Vijayawada: Officials of the Vijayawada and Guntur railway divisions are gearing up to begin survey for the proposed new line to Amaravati in the wake of the Railway Board’s recent nod for the study.

With this the process of establishing the much-needed connectivity to the capital city from Vijayawada and Guntur is going to get on to the fast track.

Top officials of South Central Railway are making necessary arrangements for the survey, which is expected to be completed this financial year itself.

Two specific proposals to link Amaravati from New Guntur and Mangalagiri stations in Guntur district and Rayanapadu and Kondapalli stations near Vijayawada are under examination.

According to official sources, the cost of land acquisition is going to be significantly high than the expenditure entailed by creation of physical infrastructure that comprises tracks and other equipment, as vast tracts of multi-cropped fields have to be acquired.

Construction of a kilometre of a high-speed track is estimated to cost not less than Rs.100 crore.

Field survey for 67 kilometres for the project completed

Railway Minister Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu is likely to inaugurate the Amaravati rail connectivity works during his visit to city on June 4.

Mr. Prabhu is coming here to meet Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and thank him for nominating him to the Rajya Sabha from Andhra Pradesh. He is likely to take this opportunity to ground the works for the new project, mostly online.

“We have completed the field survey for 67-kilometres for Amaravati project,” said a senior Railway officer. Ministers, MPs and officials from South Central Railway (SCR) will participate.

The Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL) has taken up the survey on new railway line to Andhra Pradesh capital, Amaravati, from both Vijayawada and Guntur.

Recently, the State and the Central governments announced that a new railway station would be constructed at Amaravati, and the capital city will be connected with the neighbouring stations.

The South Central Railway (SCR) has asked the RVNL to conduct feasibility study on the line and the RVNL officials are likely to submit the report in this financial year, Vijayawada Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) Ashok Kumar told.

Report soon

“RVNL has taken up the job and is studying on laying new railway line to Amaravati. We are expecting the feasibility report in the next few months and it would be submitted to the Railway Board for clearance,” the DRM said.

The Railway authorities said the officials wesre also studying improving KC Canal Junction and connecting Amaravati to Kondapalli and Rayanapadu stations and the surrounding stations in Guntur district.

“We are planning to give connectivity to Amaravati from Vijayawada and Guntur stations, and reduce burden on the two stations by operating trains between Guntur-Amaravati-Vijayawada. New rail bridges need to be constructed across Krishna River for implementing the new project,” says a railway officer.

Once the project is sanctioned, the SCR will submit proposals seeking land for the new railway station nearer to the State and central government offices, Secretariat and other structures, which are coming up in Amaravati.

“We need cooperation from the Capital Region Development Authority (CRDA) and the State government in this regard,” he said.

Source:RailNews