Central Railway is planning to upgrade the Godhani-Kalamna Chord Line to make it fit for running of the passenger trains. It is in line with steps being taken by Railway administration to decongest Nagpur Railway Station. The proposal would see strengthening of tracks, affixing of heavy duty switches and usage of upgraded ballast to enable safety of the travellers in Mail/Express train.

 

This is so as passenger trains move at far greater speed that the goods train and hence, they emit high vibrations for which the track architecture needs to be aligned for absorption. Post completion of upgradation of Chord Line, Railways plans to directly move trains coming from Northern India to Eastern India corridor of Railways through Kalamna-Gondia and ahead, said Sr Divisional Commercial Manager Aman Mittal while talking to ‘The Hitavada’. Mittal, who is at Nagpur Division, said nearly dozen train services are shortlisted for diversion from Godhani to Kalamna by-passing Nagpur station and post approval from Railway Board, same could be implemented. Currently, only goods trains, mostly coal laden wagons, are moving on the Kalamna-Godhani chord line. The chord line then connects to Koradi and Khaparkheda thermal power plants.

 

The coal extracted from Mahanadi coal mines is fed to the thermal power plants in Nagpur District and other units in Northern parts of the country and hence, it is quite a busy corridor for Railways. This chord line abuts the Grand Trunk route of Indian Railways, one of the longest and busiest routes. Right now, upgradation of Godhani Railway Station is on under Amrit Bharat scheme. Apart from going for construction of new station building, several passenger amenities are also being added in anticipation of development of Satellite Station. The renovated Godhani station is likely to open for passenger traffic towards end of the year. The Railway administration is also working on completion of direct road for connecting to Godhani station taking off from Koradi Road.

 

The trains that are identified for shifting from Nagpur to Godhani railway station are ones, which require engine reversals. Mail/Express trains coming from Northern India corridor when approaching Nagpur Station have their engine positioned towards Western side while their next movement is to the Eastern side. This requires changing of engine direction, though these days, the exercise is completed in matter of minutes as power is strategically positioned ahead of the train’s arrival. The exercise saves crucial operation time, thus avoiding long detention of trains on the platform. But throughout the country, Railways has undertaken exercise for right sizing the trains and also, for cutting down the travel time. At junctions, where engine reversal occurs, the plan is to go for satellite terminals to avoid detentions. 

 

Before Nagpur station’s shutdown, Ajni, Godhani to be ready by next year The plans for upgradation of Kalamna-Godhani Chord line corridor is precursor to shutdown of Nagpur Railway Station for the ongoing mega redevelopment project. The tentative plan is to take up the work relating to construction of concourse across platform no. 1 to 8 over the OHE. The plan is to start the work during the next year. Prior to that, Railways plans to bring Godhani and possibly, Ajni railway station, in the operational loop, said Aman Mittal further. While taking operational blocks at Nagpur Station, which sees movement of 150 train services daily, this should not disrupt the train services on major scale. Hence, these two satellite terminals, Godhani and Ajni, would handle the major traffic, while few other local trains might need to be regulated. Ajni station is common to movement of trains coming from Southern and Western parts of country. Hence, the 7 platforms at the station can take away major burden off Nagpur station to facilitate the construction work, said Mittal.

 

Teegaon-Godhani 3rd line eases operational issues for Railways The completion of third line from Teegaon to Godhani will provide breather in operational movement of long distance trains. Within a month, the third line connectivity with Godhani Yard will be completed. Post completion of track and allied signal and electrification works, the movement of long distance trains on Nagpur-Itarsi route would be faster. The third line will be used for dedicated movement of goods trains leaving two lines for passenger train traffic. This means, for movement of passenger trains, goods trains need not be put on loop line. With dedicated goods line, Railways can run additional services and increase its revenue.