Summary:
The SR needed to take a power block (turn off electricity and hence all railway services) to do this work. It was inspected by the commissioner of railway safety (CRS) then.However, the final work of linking this new line with the existing line on the Arakkonam-Katpadi section was pending. Passengers who have booked their tickets three to four months in advance will be affected by this work.The SR has laid a detour line between Takkolam and Arakkonam on the Chengalpet-Arakkonam route and commissioned it in January. It had planned to execute the work before March to start the services before general manager RK Kulshrestha retires in March, to showcase it as one of the achievements during his tenure, railway sources said.However, the railway board issued an instruction stating that the final commissioning work should be taken up only in first half of April. The board was apprehensive that the power block would impact movements of freight trains and thereby earnings, sources said.The Southern Railway headquarters which has permitted the Chennai division to finish the work said freight trains should be suitably regulated and the work executed in a smooth manner.The last time such a major work was taken up was in May 2018 for remodelling of the Arakkonam yard..