Vijayawada–Gudur section


The Vijayawada–Gudur section is a railway line connecting in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh and. The main line is part of the Howrah-Chennai and New Delhi–Chennai main lines.

Geography

The Vijayawada-Gudur line runs along the Coromandel Coast, lying between the Eastern Ghats and the Bay of Bengal. The main line crosses the Krishna immediately after its departure from Vijayawada.

Railway zone jurisdiction

The track from Vijayawada to Gudur is under the administrative jurisdiction of South Coast Railway

History

The Southern Mahratta Railway Company linked Goa with Guntakal with a metre gauge line and also linked Vijayawada with Mormugao in 1890. During the period 1893 to 1896, of the East Coast State Railway, from Vijayawada to Cuttack was built and opened to traffic, and construction of the Vijayawada-Gudur link in 1899 enabled the through running of trains along the eastern coast of India. The southern part of the East Coast State Railway was taken over by Madras Railway in 1901.

Railway reorganization

In the early 1950s legislation was passed authorizing the central government to take over independent railway systems that were there. On 14 April 1951 the Madras and Southern Mahratta Railway, the South Indian Railway Company and Mysore State Railway were merged to form Southern Railway. Subsequently, Nizam's Guaranteed State Railway was also merged into Southern Railway. On 2 October 1966, the Secunderabad, Solapur, Hubli and Vijayawada Divisions, covering the former territories of Nizam’s Guaranteed State Railway and certain portions of Madras and Southern Mahratta Railway were separated from Southern Railway to form the South Central Railway. In 1977, Guntakal division of Southern Railway was transferred to South Central Railway and the Solapur division transferred to Central Railway. Amongst the seven new zones created in 2010 was South Western Railway, which was carved out of Southern Railway.

Electrification

was the first train in South Eastern Railway to be hauled by a diesel engine in 1965. The Vijayawada–Gudur–Chennai section was completely electrified by 1980. The Howrah-Chennai route was completely electrified by 2005. Section-wise electrification was as follows: Vijayawada-Chirala 1979–80; Chirala-Ongole, Ongole-Ulavapadu, Ulavapadu-Bitragunta, Bitragunta-Pagudupadu, Gudur-Venkatagiri, Venkatagiri-Renigunta, and Renigunta-Tirupati 1983–85; Krishna Canal-Guntur, Krishna canal-Tenali and Guntur-Tenali 1987–89; Arakkonam-Renigunta 1982–85.

Speed limits

The New Delhi to Puratchi Thalaivar Dr. M.G. Ramachandran Central Railway Station line, of which the Vijayawada–Gudur section is a part, is classified as a "Group A" line which can take speeds up to 160 km/h. On the branch lines the speed limit is 100 km/hr.

Passenger movement

, Vijayawada and Nellore, on the main line, and Tirupati Main and Vellore Katpadi, on branch lines, are amongst the top hundred booking stations of Indian Railway.