The South Central Railway (SCR) Zone has completed and commissioned a 20.3 km-long section of electrified third line between Karavadi and Surareddipalem in Andhra Pradesh as part of its thrust towards infrastructural development through track doubling and tripling projects.

The new section located in Prakasam district falls under the Vijayawada-Gudur tripling and electrification project, a major railway project in the southern state, said an official.

“With the tripling of this stretch now a continuous stretch of 81 km between Bapatla and Surareddipalem will have third line facility along with electrification,” said a SCR Zone official in a press release.

Situated on the Grand Trunk route along the coastal region of Andhra Pradesh, the section between Vijayawada and Gudur plays a crucial role in connecting the northern and eastern parts of India with the southern states.

Further, this route has already become more congested with a steady rise of passenger and freight trains, which will be decongested by the third line project sanctioned in 2015-16 for a length of 288 km and at a cost of Rs 3,246 crore.