Rajpura Bathinda Railway electrification will see the light of the day
KS Diwan/ royalpatiala.in/ patiala
Finally the dream project of Electrification and doubling of Patiala Bathinda rail line of Dr Dharamvira Gandhi, Member Parliament Patiala will see the light of the day.
The railway department authorize agency, Rail Vikas Nigam Limited, who won the bid to electrify Bathinda Rajpura rail line, issue the tender notice for Execution of Doubling of track between Rajpura and Bathinda from km 0.00 to 172.64. The work includes construction of roadbed, minor bridges, supply of ballast, Installation of track, Railway Electrification and General Electrification, Signalling and Telecommunication works.
The work will begin from January 2019.After the completion of the project, trains with electric engines, will ply on the Bathinda-Delhi route, which will reduce the cost of operations and minimise the effect on the environment.
With the electrification of Rajpura-Bathinda and double track, fast, superfast trains will be diverted on this route. With this the residents of Patiala will get the maximum benefit. The railway is also planning to run a Shatabdi Train on this route.
As earlier, trains on this route were been run by diesel locomotives. A train engine consumes around 15 to 20 litres of diesel per kilometer and for starting the engine; it consumes around 25 litres of diesel.
A railway official said electric engine trains, unlike diesel engines, were more environment-friendly as there is less pollution.“As electric engines can take more loads, we can now expect to add more trains, coaches, on this route, after the process is over”
The speed of the trains will be increased from 130 km/hr to 160 km/hr after the electrification process and the rail lines on the route are being strengthened as per the new requirement and specifications.
