The long-overdue project to double the railway track in the 46-km Thuravur-Ambalappuzha corridor has got a shot in the arm, with the 56th Network Planning Group (NPG) meeting under the PM GatiSakhti initiative that met on Wednesday to take stock of railway and highway works deciding to include the stretch in the scheme of things, informed sources said.
A formal order from Railway Board approving the project is expected in October, while its Rs 1,262 cr estimate is expected to be approved latest by December, they added.
The 46-km stretch is part of the 69-km Ernakulam-Ambalapuzha rail corridor (through the Alappuzha route) – the sole corridor in Kerala where track doubling is overdue. The Railway had divided this stretch into three reaches for being doubled – Ernakulam-Kumbalam, Kumbalam-Thuravur and Thuravur-Ambalappuzha, for faster execution. The estimate for the first two reaches had been sanctioned earlier, while uncertainty prevailed over the plight of the 46-km Thuravur-Ambalappuzha corridor.
