The Jolarpettai yard has been upgraded to enhance speed and safety of train operations! The Jolarpettai Junction station, under Indian Railways’ Chennai Division of Southern Railway zone, serves as a major railhead, handling more than 190 train services daily. During this lockdown period, the Southern Railway zone is carrying out major infrastructure and safety works to prevent disruptions of passenger train services.
According to the zonal railways, the upgradation of 4-km long Jolarpettai yard has paved the way for enhanced speed and safety of train services at Jolarpettai. Now, the trains can be operated at a speed of 110 km per hour instead of the existing 15 km per hour. This will save 20 minutes in a single trip and 40 minutes for a round trip of turn around trains to Coimbatore, Bangalore, etc., from Chennai. The Jolarpettai yard’s upgradation works also included the following important remodeling works:
- Provision has been made for auxiliary interlocking cabins, main electronic interlocking cabin as well as three object controller huts. With this transformation of aged route relay interlocking to modern electronic interlocking, safe train movement would be ensured, synergizing the relationship between points and signals.
- Three diamond crossings (1 in 8.5 m) to be eliminated. This would improve trains’ safety and reliability by removing the complex layout.
- The remodeling works also include conversion of two 2.2 degree reverse curves into simple curves, thereby increasing the speed potential from 80 km per hour to 100 km per hour.
- Facilities to be created to simultaneously receive as well as dispatch train towards Bangalore by creating isolation to goods yard.
- Provision to be made for three sand humps to isolate them through goods lines as well as common loop from the main line
- 40 double end points, as well as six single end points to be replaced with new point machines
- 42 main signals and 24 subsidiary signals to be renewed
- 165 track circuits to be replaced
- Provision of BPAC with HASSDAC at Bangalore and Salem ends
- During this work, in Chennai division, the interlocking of the last non interlocked LC gate has been completed