South Central Railway (SCR) on Friday announced the commissioning of its longest rail-on-rail (RoR) flyover, having a length of 2.2 km, on the Gudur–Manubolu section as part of a third line to facilitate cross-movement of trains between Vijayawada and Renigunta and Chennai and Vijayawada without detention of trains.
The flyover was constructed by Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL) and is the seventh such bridge in the zone, where the previous longest had been just 40-metre long. The new one, which is electrified, was built in two years using PSC (pre-stressed concrete) and composite girders with inherent high torsional resistance and lower overall maintenance costs.
An official spokesperson said in a press release that high-grade concrete and structural steel was used for the substructure, PSC girders and slab of the flyover and the work was done within the railway land, avoiding expensive land acquisition.
This single-line rail flyover between Gudur and Manubolu has been designed to handle traffic in both directions and is fit to handle trains with 32.5 tonnes of axle load. Gudur railway station, located on the busy Grand Trunk Route, is important for SCR and Southern Railway.
The new rail flyover will help ease train movements on this saturated section as it will facilitate simultaneous movement of trains between Vijayawada to Renigunta and Chennai to Vijayawada, while passing through Gudur station.
Earlier, one of the train movements had to be stopped to facilitate the movement in one direction. The simultaneous reception and dispatch facility offered by the rail flyover will eliminate detentions on account of cross-movements, improve average speed of the trains and enhance operational efficiency of the train movements on the section, said GM Arun Kumar Jain. He complimented the RVNL and other departmental staff for completing the work expeditiously, the release added.
