Mangaluru railway track doubling: Trains start moving on newly laid track between Padil & Kulshekar

Mangaluru: The pending track doubling between Padil and Kulshekar has finally been completed and trains have started plying on the newly laid tracks on Monday.

The 2.6 km stretch of tracks that was delayed in the stretch between Mangaluru Junction and Panambur was opened for traffic after the commissioning works were completed and confirmed fit for traffic. The new electronic interlocking panel was commissioned at Padil at 2 pm on Monday. The trains started moving on the newly laid track at about 2.50 PM.

Train no. the 12618/12617 Nizamuddin-Ernakulam Junction Mangala Lakshadweep Express was the first train to use the double track.  It passed through the newly built tunnel at Kulshekar at around 3.41 PM.

With this, the rail traffic, which has been disrupted since May 17 last year, has returned to normalcy. The unfinished track doubling work created a bottleneck for trains on the Konkan route. The trains had to wait for line clearance, either stopping at Mangaluru Junction or at Jokatte. The goods trains were given priority over passenger trains, inconveniencing passengers. These problems will be solved with the completion of the new line.