CHENNAI: Southern Railway General Manager R K Kulshrestha said here on Wednesday that the 11-km third line between Singaperumalkoil and Guduvanchery in Tambaram - Chengalpattu section will be commissioned this year.Addressing presspersons at the railway headquarters here, he said the additional track laying work in northern and southern suburban section would enable railways to operate more EMU services. “The third and fourth lines between Chennai Beach and Korukupet and fourth line from Korukupet to Tiruvottriyur would also be targeted to be completed this year,” he added.
Elaborating on the financial performance of Southern Railway, he said the zone earned nearly Rs 7,670 crore during 2017-18 as gross earnings registering a growth of 2.1 per cent over last year. “The passenger earnings stood at Rs 4,262 crore with an increase of 6.21 per cent compared to previous year. Freight earnings was Rs 2,739 crore, a growth of 4.7 per cent over the previous year”, he said.
Noting that the zonal railway spent Rs 100 crore for provision of passenger amenities as against Rs 71 crore during 2016-17. Kulshrestha said the railways got Rs 230.06 crore through sale of scrap as against Rs 200 crore last year. “A total of 2,323 specials were operated to clear extra rush of passengers compared to 1,610 specials in 2016-17. In addition, 1,696 Suvidha and Special Fare specials carried 14.48 lakh passengers this year compared to previous year in which 9.27 lakh passengers travelled in 1,298 specials,” he said.