The South Central Railway (SCR) zone has commissioned its first long loop line at Bikkavolu station in East Godavari district in Andhra Pradesh, aimed at accommodating more number of trains and easing out operation among others.
“The first long loop line of SCR has been commissioned at Bikkavolu railway station of Vijayawada division located on the busy Vijayawada-Visakhapatnam (Waltair) section,” said a railway zone official.
Generally, loop lines are constructed with a length of 750 meters to accommodate full-length goods trains with multiple engines.
“With the increasing need to handle more number of trains with higher average speeds, Indian Railways has been encouraging the construction of longer loops of around 1,500 meters,” said the official.
Longer loops are equipped to accommodate long-haul trains such as Jai Kisan wherein two freight trains are combined and run for quick mobility.
Likewise, they also enable quicker crossing and movement of trains, improves punctuality of passenger trains, enables handling of more trains, and improves overall train operations.
“The execution works for construction of long loop at Bikkavolu has been taken up with meticulous planning without any disruption to regular train services,” he said about the loop which cost Rs 85 crore.
Incidentally, the Bikkavolu longer loop has been completed before the targeted date while commissioning works for other selected stations is underway along with the third line works being executed between Vijayawada and Gudur
The Bikkavolu longer loop has two isolations to strengthen safety and also facilitates stabling two trains at a time.
The Ministry of Railways has sanctioned the construction of longer loops in six stations in the Vijayawada division of SCR: Baikkavolu, Nawabpalem, and Elamanchili in the Vijayawada-Visakhapatnam section and Nidubrolu, Ammanabrolu, and Bitragunta in the Vijayawada-Chennai section.
Meanwhile, the loops at Nawabpalem and Elamanchili are nearing completion, targeted for commissioning in 2021.
