The South Central Railway division of Indian Railways has commissioned the double line between Moturu and Akiveedu stations in the Vijayawada division of Andhra Pradesh.
The two stations lie on the Gudivada-Bhimavaram section and the double line was commissioned with the running of the Narasapur-Nagarsol Express.
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This new line, which covers 40km, has four major and 131 minor bridges. Indian Railways completed 1.15 million square metres of earthwork before commissioning.
Yard remodelling, circuit provision, indoor station works and construction of 23 level crossing gates were completed in preparation.
In March, the commissioner for railway safety certified the line as safe.
Between 2011 and 2012, Indian Railways undertook doubling and electrification work on the Vijayawada-Gudivada-Bhimavaram-Narsapur, Gudivada-Machilipatnam and Bhimavaram-Nidadavolu sections.
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By GlobalDataThese sections, which cover 221km combined, are expected to boost the development of the state.
The cost of the project was estimated to be Rs15bn ($210.6m), of which the Government of Andhra Pradesh contributed 50%.
Rail Vikas Nigam expects to complete the project in five stages, with an estimated deadline by 2020 to 2021.
The five phases of the project comprise a 51.5km-stretch on the Vijayawada–Moturu line, 53.5km of the Moturu-Bhimavaram Town line, 49.75km of the Bhimavaram Town-Nidadavolu line, 36.74km of the Gudivada-Machilipatnam line, and 29.48km of the Bhimavaram-Narasapur line.
The work in the Moturu–Bhimavaram stretch commenced in 2013, while the remaining work in Akiveedu-Bhimavaram is underway and expected to be completed by November.
