The South Central Railway (SCR) zone has commissioned its first longer 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 longer 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 metres 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 metres," said the official.
First Longer Loop Line of South Central Railway has been commissioned at Bikkavolu Rly Stn of Vijayawada Division located on the busy Vijayawada – Visakhapatnam (Waltair) section.
— South Central Railway (@SCRailwayIndia) December 18, 2020
To ease freight operations & to accommodate Longer Haul Goods trains @RailMinIndia pic.twitter.com/dhIkMUQyf4
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 longer loop at Bikkavolu has been taken up with meticulous planning without any disruption to regular train services," the official 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 the 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 Vijayawada division of SCR: Bikkavolu, Navabpalem and Elamanchili in Vijayawada-Visakhapatnam section and Nidubrolu, Ammanabrolu and Bitragunta in Vijayawada-Chennai section.
Meanwhile, the loops at Navabpalem and Elamanchili are nearing completion, targeted for commissioning in 2021.