Hyderabad: The South Central Railway (SCR) has completed the entire tripling project along with electrification between Kazipet and Balharshah, covering a distance of 203 km, at a cost of around Rs 3,000 crore.The final stretch of tripling and electrification between Asifabad and Sirpur Kaghaznagar, spanning 11 km, along with an important bridge across the Bibra River, was completed on Thursday.This enables seamless operations of train services running through the grand trunk route. The Kazipet – Balharshah section is a vital rail link connecting the northern and southern regions of the country, besides also connecting several other coal and cement sidings situated along the route.As a result, the rail link between Kazipet and Balharshah has been witnessing continuous growth of both passenger and freight traffic, leading to oversaturation of this section. To decongest this vital section, initially the tripling works between Raghavapuram and Mandamarri, covering a distance of 33 km, were completed in 2016.Now, the tripling and electrification of the entire stretch has been completed and commissioned except for a small stretch near Balharshah station falling under central railway jurisdiction. This involves connectivity to the Balharshah yard with a newly laid third line, for which the works are in progress. The sections between Kazipet – Balharshah were completed in different phases starting from 2020 to date.Sanjay Kumar Srivastava, SCR general manager, said that the completion of this important project will help meet the growing transportation needs in the region and marks a milestone in further strengthening the rail network between the northern and southern regions of the country.
