Indian Railways constructs two-kilometre stretch of tracks in record six hours

Payyannur: The Indian Railways created history by constructing railway tracks of a two-kilometre stretch in under six hours. The construction works were done at night and the Ezhimala rail bridge was open for transportation by morning. The tracks were paved and fixed in under six hours at night without causing any delays.

The works started at 9 pm and by 4.30 am, rail tracks in a two-kilometre stretch on both sides were completed and attached to the new rail bridge. The first train to pass was a goods train at 4.56 am followed by the Porbandar Express at 5.35 am with passengers aboard. Meanwhile, the construction works were overseen by the additional division railway manager Jayakrishnan as well as the chief engineer, senior divisional engineer and deputy engineer.

The trains to Kannur side too passed through the bridge at low speed. Meanwhile, West Coast Express and Mangala Express trains were also allowed to pass through the first track while the works were being done. The new bridge was constructed after the old Changurichal bridge, built in 1906, became weak and unstable.

Although the new bridge was completed two years ago, it wasn’t open for transportation as land acquisition became impossible to build the subsequent rail tracks. The rail track that extends from the track to Kannur side was connected to the new bridge on Friday night. Seven hours were allowed at night for completing the construction of the tracks and connecting them with the bridge.

The second track is now connected to the new bridge. On 24th night, the first track to the old bridge would be connected to the new bridge that joins the second track. This will enable the railway to completely discard the Changurichal bridge built in 1906. The grand old bridge which is more than a century old, will be dismantled later.