PM to open Beach-Egmore 4th rail line today

Puducherry/Madurai: Prime Minister Narendra Modi who reached Chennai on Saturday will dedicate to the nation an array of completed projects and also lay foundation stone for several others on Sunday in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.He will inaugurate the Chennai Beach-Chennai Egmore fourth line that will enhance operational efficiency in the Chennai suburban rail network by facilitating additional passenger and freight services. He will dedicate to the nation various development projects worth over Rs2,700 crore in Puducherry. They include the 750 acre Karasur-Sedarapet Industrial Estate, which will house a pharma park, textile park, IT Park, state-of-the-art research and development centre of IIT Madras and advanced healthcare facilities of Jipmer.He will lay foundation stone for the four-laning of Marakanam–Puducherry National Highway. This will help reduce traffic congestion in urban areas of Puducherry and reduce travel time by nearly 50%, from an hour to about 30 minutes.The project will provide seamless connectivity among key national highways and state highways, enhance access to prominent destinations such as Mamallapuram, Kalpakkam atomic power station and Auroville, strengthen connectivity between coastal villages and Villupuram district headquarters, and boost tourism and economic activity in the region.The PM will then travel to Madurai and dedicate to the nation completed projects and lay foundation stone of new infrastructure projects together worth over Rs 4,400 crore. He will open the Paramakudi–Ramanathapuram NH. The four-laning of the stretch will provide faster access to major religious destinations, including Madurai, Rameswaram and Dhanushkodi. It will reduce travel time from one hour to approximately 35 minutes.It will strengthen multi-modal connectivity by linking major railway stations at Madurai and Rameswaram, airports at Madurai and INS Parundu, and non-major ports at Pamban and Rameswaram. The corridor will integrate key economic nodes, including fishing clusters, a special economic zone, a mega food park and a textile cluster, thereby catalysing trade, industry and socio-economic development across the region.Modi will inaugurate eight redeveloped railway stations at Morappur, Bommidi, Srivilliputtur, Sholavandan, Manaparai, Pollachi Junction, Karaikkudi Junction, and Tiruvarur Junction. These stations have been upgraded with modern passenger-centric amenities while incorporating local architectural elements and cultural aesthetics. These include improved accessibility, enhanced station buildings, modern waiting halls, lifts and escalators, upgraded platforms and Divyangjan-friendly facilities.The PM will inaugurate three new FM relay transmitters at Kumbakonam, Yercaud and Vellore, which will expand regional coverage and ensure uninterrupted FM broadcasting.