Doubling of Gooty-Pendekallu railway line cleared

Gooty (Anantapur): Ministry of railways cleared the doubling of Gooty-Pendekallu line in Anantapur district. The 29.2 km section is one of the critical links for trains operating between northern and southern parts of the country. The project is sanctioned at an estimated cost of Rs 351.8 crore.

The ministry of railways has been according special emphasis on creation of infrastructure, with several developmental works being taken in the recent past. One of the focus areas for railways has been doubling of critical and saturated sections for improving the mobility of the trains. Taking one more crucial step in this direction, the ministry sanctioned doubling of railway line between Gooty-Pendekallu stations. The project stretching for a distance of 29.2 km has been accorded special sanction at an estimated cost of Rs 351.8 crore.

The Gooty-Pendekallu section is one of the critical sections in Guntakal division of South Central Railway handling trains, particularly between Secunderabad / Hyderabad and Bengaluru railway stations. The section plays an important role in connecting these both cities and beyond as the most of the trains pass through this section. Over the years, this section has witnessed steady increase in both passenger and freight trains leading to saturation of the section. Doubling of the section will not only ease the train movements and improve operational efficiency but will also provide opportunity to introduce more trains in the section.

Railways has already sanctioned doubling of railway line between Pendekallu-Guntur sections as part of the Guntakal-Guntur doubling project, for which works are already in progress. Similarly, another key section in the region, Gooty-Dharmavaram has also been converted into a double line section recently. As such, doubling of 29.2 km railway line between Gooty-Pendekallu railway stations will enable seamless movement of trains along the double lines between Hyderabad / Secunderabad and Bengaluru and beyond in both directions.

The industry in the region will benefit with faster movement of freight trains, while passengers can benefit with the increase from the average speed of trains in the sections. SCR general manager Arun Kumar Jain said doubling of Gooty-Pendekallu will bridge the vital section in the region with other double lines networks in the division. He said that this will help in decongestion of this critical section and provide an opportunity to operate more trains in these sections. He said that, both passenger and freight customers will benefit from doubling of this section.