MARGAO
Speed trials of the double track laid by the South Western Railway as part of the Tinaighat-Vasco track doubling project were conducted on the Sanvordem-Margao section of the newly-laid line on Thursday.
Railway officials said the speed trials were successful, with a senior official saying that the train ran at a speed in excess of 124 km/h.
The Commissioner of Railway Safety, Southern Circle conducted the statutory inspection of the newly-laid double track along the 15.6 kms stretch between Sanvordem and Margao on Thursday. The speed trial started at 10 in the morning and ended at 5 pm.
Railway officials were all smiles as the train speed touched 124 km/h. Though the trial run was described as successful as per the laid down guidelines, the South Western Railway officials will wait for the Commissioner of Railway Safety to issue the safety certificate, which will clear the decks for the running of the trains on the new line.
While the safety certificate is expected to come by next week, the SWR has tentatively fixed October 10 as the date to run trains on the newly-laid track between Sanvordem and Margao.
“Since the speed trials have turned out successful with the speed touching 124 km/h, we will not put the remaining aspects in place before the line is thrown up for running of trains”, he said.
The 15.6 km Sanvordem-Margao route has been laid at an estimated cost of Rs 150 crore. Work on the Sanvordem-Cullem sector is underway and has been progressing at a slow pace in view of issues over private forests.
