'Nadikudi-Srikalahasti rail line first phase by March 2018'.

The first phase of the Nadikudi-Srikalahasti railway line, which is set to facilitate overall development in the fledgling State of Andhra Pradesh, will be completed in 2017-18 fiscal, said South Central Railway General Manager Vinod Kumar Yadav recently.

“There is no dearth of funds for the project, which is expected to turn the Kalahasti spine into an important development zone in the region,” he told the media here along with Vijayawada Divisional Railway Manager Ashok Kumar.

“We have enough allocation for the first phase of the project in this year's budget. The 30-km first phase will be completed before March 2018,” said Mr. Yadav, who made a brief halt here while inspecting the Vijayawada-Gudur line.

The Union government had sanctioned ₹340 crore for the first phase of the project from Piduguralla to Rompicherla.

The 309-km-long line, which was estimated to cost approximately ₹2,452 crore, provides an alternative to Kazipet-Vijayawada and Vijayawada-Gudur-Tirupati/Chennai grand trunk route and improve rail connectivity from remote areas of Guntur, Prakasam and Nellore districts to the capital city of Amaravati.

The General Manager said the ₹3,875.68-crore Vijayawada-Gudur third line would be completed in the next three years.

He ruled out stoppages to long distance trains in principle as it would lead to delay of about 10 minutes, affecting punctuality.

According top priority to passenger safety, all unmanned level crossings would be eliminated by 2019 and other level crossings converted into rail under-bridges or rail over-bridges in phases, he said.

THE HINDU