Palakkad-Pollachi new track by 2011

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The gauge conversion of the Palakkad-Pollachi stretch will be completed by 2011and electrification of the busy Shoranur-Mangalore railway section will be taken up after the ongoing doubling works in the section. A sum of Rs.320 crore had been sanctioned for the work, Divisional Railway Manager S.K. Raina said.

He was addressing the 142nd meeting of the Divisional Railway Users Consultative Committee (DRUCC) of the Palakkad Division at the Railway Divisional Office at Palakkad on Wednesday.

Mr. Raina said an integrated security system had been sanctioned for the Kozhikode railway station at a cost of Rs.3.57 crore in addition to bomb detection and disposal squad. The system would also be introduced in Mangalore Central at a cost of Rs.3.49 crore.

Passenger lifts to connect the platforms, a new foot over- bridge with ramps and escalators were the new amenities that had been sanctioned for the Kozhikode station. Additional works that had been proposed include coach guidance system and concreting of tracks in the platform area.

In Kannur, the sanctioned works include the construction of a second entry and booking office, shifting of reservation system to a new building, paving of the parking area, improvement in circulating area and facelift of the station in general. The other works that had been proposed were introduction of passenger lifts and concreting of tracks in platform