CHENNAI: The travel time between Chennai and Mangaluru has come down by 35 minutes, made possible by the Railways increasing the track sectional speed to 110 kmph.According to sources, the Chennai-Mangalore section via Arakkonam, Katpadi, Jolarpettai, Erode, Coimbatore, Palakkad, Shoranur and Calicut is a double line section with a route length of 909 km. The maximum permitted speed for trains is 100-105 kmph.The route is spread over three divisions — Chennai, Salem and Palakkad.
The section speed in the 909-km route has been increased to 110 kmph with effect from April 22, thereby reducing the travel time by up to 35 minutes.Upon completion of works, speed test was conducted by the Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS). The process was initiated in December 2019 and approval from CRS was obtained in March 2021, the official added.
Daily suburban workmen services increased to 480
Days after reducing the suburban workmen special services in Chennai region by 25 per cent, Southern Railway has partly restored the cancelled services. On Monday, the number of services increased to 480 a day as against 434 on April 20. With the travel restrictions imposed by the State, the Railways had reduced the suburban services from 600 to 434 a day. The move has led to overcrowding in trains along the Chennai-Arakkonam route. Subsequently, on April 24, the Railways added 25 more services along the Chennai-Avadi, Chennai - Tiruvallur and Chennai-Arakkonam routes.