THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Satisfaction is writ large on their faces. For, they are just a few days away from finishing an immensely crucial component of the Thiruvananthapuram- Kanyakumari railway line electrification work.We were at the worksite - near the Nemom railway station - where some 20-odd labourers are involved in raising an aqueduct, so as to give clearance for the electric lines. For those who don’t know, aqueduct, ‘is a water supply or navigable channel constructed to convey water.’ In simple terms, it could be called a canal. The electric lines were touching this aqueduct - numbered 35 by the Railways- meant for irrigation purposes. Raising the 30-m long structure was the only option left before the Railways, said S Sasi, assistant executive engineer, Railway Electrification Wing, Thiruvananthapuram, who has been supervising the work ever since it began on August 8. Obviously, raising a concrete structure is no easy task. In this case, the canal, which stands on three pillars, had to be cut into three pieces first. Then, using the lifting jack, these pieces are raised by some 40 cm. The gap between the original height and the new height is filled using Mild Steel fabricated steel stools. Three stools have already been mounted and work is in progress on placing the fourth one. Once it is over, the stools will be embedded in concrete. The labourers, led by chief mason Sobykumar, are of Kumar Reddy and Arumugham Engineering Construction Company, Chennai. The whole equipment used for the work costs ` 52 lakh. “The capacity of the jack is 50-tonne and in a single push, it can raise the structure by 15 cm,” said Arumugham of Kumar Reddy and Arumugham Company. The electrification of Thiruvananthapuram-Kanyakumari railway line is expected to be completed by December 31 this year. This particular work at Nemom ought to have been undertaken much earlier. The clearance from Irrigation Department took long, it is learnt. “This work is very crucial as far as the electrification of the stretch is concerned. And we are happy with the fact that the work has been undertaken smoothly, without affecting the train movement. Since the work is on, trains move at the minimum speed, ie 20 kmph, along this stretch,” Sasi said. The Railways had done an equally difficult, but different, work at Dhanuvachapuram in connection with electrification some three months back. “There was no sufficient clearance for the electric lines near the Dhanuvachapuram Station. We couldn’t raise the structure, and so the railway track was lowered by 30 cm there,” Sasi said.
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