Southern railways has decided to double rail line between Ponmalai and Thanjavur (47 km), Changanasseri and Chingavanam (9.5 km) is also targeted for completion this year and this will benefit the public and the railway operations, general manager Vashishta Johri said, claiming that in addition to this, it has also decided doubling with electrification of Chennai-Madurai railway line running to about 497 km will be completed by this year since the balance 25 km is scheduled for completion by December 2017. On the passenger front, Southern Railway has carried 1.9 per cent more passengers than last year with a consequent increase of 4.9 per cent in passenger earnings. On the freight side, the earnings are nearly at the same level as last year, although we loaded about 2.5 MT less than last year, due to changes in pattern in the movement of coal rakes and the surge in electricity generation through alternate means.
