Apart from the brand new Gandhinagar Capital railway station, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to inaugurate the Surendranagar-Pipavav electrification and Mehsana-Varetha Gauge Conversion projects by video conferencing tomorrow.
Mehasana-Vadnagar-Varetha Gauge Conversion and Electrification
The Mehsana-Varetha Gauge Conversion and Electrification project also includes Vadnagar station, where the PM is said to have sold tea in his younger days.
The 367 crore gauge conversion and electrification project has 10 stations. Four out of them – Visnagar, Vadnagar, Kheralu and Varetha – were redeveloped as part of the project.
Surendranagar – Pipavav Electrification
The 264 route kilometre Surendranagar – Pipavav electrification project is a crucial connection from the Pipavav port to the partly commissioned dedicated freight corridor project. With the completion of electrification work, electric locomotives will now be able to take trains right up to the port, eliminating time-consuming traction changeover.
The project cost Rs. 290 crores and was completed in three years. The use of high-rise overhead wire electrification on this route will also enable double-stacked container trains to be hauled with electric locomotives. The switch is expected to save approximately Rs. 31 crores on fuel costs annually.
With this, Dhola – Bhavnagar and Rajula – Mahuva sections will see mail/express and passenger trains also switch to electric traction.
