New Delhi, Sep 28 (PTI) The Railway Ministry on Monday approved a new tri-weekly train service between Machilipatnam and Kurnool City via Vijayawada of South Coast Railway, providing an additional rail connectivity option between coastal and central parts of Andhra Pradesh.
The approved Machilipatnam-Kurnool City Express will cover a distance of 499 km, a Ministry’s press statement said without specifying any date for commencement of its service.
For its onwards journey, it will depart from Machilipatnam at 4:55 pm and reach Kurnool City at 5:45 am the next day. The train will operate on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
The train, for its return journey, will depart from Kurnool City at 9:30 am and reach Machilipatnam at 21:35 pm the same day. It will operate on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday.
The new train will have commercial stoppages at 12 stations besides Machilipatnam and Kurnool City. The stations are Gudivada, Vijayawada, Narasaraopet, Vinukonda, Donakonda, Markapur Road, Cumbum, Giddalur, Diguvametta, Nandyal, Betamcherla and Dhone.
“The approved project will extend Kavach 4.0 coverage across the identified balance sections of Varanasi Division, strengthening the safety infrastructure available for train operations,” the Ministry said.
Kavach 4.0 will cover 614.75 route kilometres of Varanasi Division of North Eastern Railway at a total cost of ₹223 crore.
Kavach is an indigenously developed Automatic Train Protection (ATP) system designed to enhance operational safety. It helps prevent red signal overshoot, automatically applies brakes when required and supports safer train movement by monitoring train operations.
“The approved work will further strengthen train protection infrastructure across the balance sections of Varanasi Division. The initiative will contribute to safer and more reliable train operations and support Indian Railways’ ongoing efforts to expand the deployment of indigenous Kavach technology across its network,” the ministry said. PTI JP JP SKY
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