Fourth railway track between Egmore & Chennai beach to improve efficiency

Chennai: The 4.3-km fourth railway line between Chennai Beach and Chennai Egmore, to be inaugurated virtually by Prime Minister Narendra Modi from Madurai on Sunday, will ease congestion and improve operational efficiency on the Chennai Beach–Tambaram corridor, officials said. So far, suburban, express and freight trains have shared just three tracks on the stretch, making it a longstanding bottleneck for Southern Railway. "Sometimes, suburban trains had to be halted to make way for express and freight trains," said a railway offcial.
"With a dedicated fourth line, suburban operations will be seamless and frequency can be increased. Express trains towards north India from Tambaram and Chengalpet will also not be affected by delays," he said.The additional line would also improve terminal handling capacity at Chennai Beach and Egmore. More than 200 suburban services run on the Chennai Beach–Tambaram–Chengalpattu section, though the number was reduced during redevelopment work at Chennai Egmore.Work on the fourth line, built at a cost of 274.20 crore, began in 2023. MRTS services between Chennai Beach and Chintadripet were suspended for more than a year during the work. The project was delayed due to land exchange that was carried out with the Indian Navy. Modi will also inaugurate eight railway stations developed under the Amrit Bharat scheme —Morappur, Pollachi Junction, Bommidi, Karaikkudi, Srivilliputhur, Sholavandan, Thiruvarur and Manaparai.