CHENNAI: The Railway Board has formally sanctioned the 159 km Salem-Karur-Dindigul railway line doubling project at a completion cost of Rs 2,241.67 crore, following the Union Cabinet's approval earlier this month.

Of the sanctioned cost, Rs 1,580.33 crore has been earmarked for civil works, Rs 281.78 crore for signalling and telecommunications, and Rs 379.56 crore for electrical works, including traction and general electrical works.

The Salem-Karur-Dindigul section, which currently has a single line, forms an important link in the route connecting Bengaluru with the southern districts of Tamil Nadu. Once the doubling of this section and the Hosur-Omalur section are completed, a continuous double-line corridor will be available from Bengaluru towards Madurai and Thoothukudi.

Southern Railway had already initiated preliminary activities for the Salem-Karur-Dindigul project, including geotechnical investigations and boundary stone fixing. About Rs 7 crore had been earmarked for preliminary works covering the Salem-Karur-Dindigul doubling, Morappur-Dharmapuri new line and Erode-Karur doubling projects.

At present, the Bengaluru-Coimbatore route via Hosur is about 376 km, and the route via Jolarpettai-Tirupattur is 419 km. The Bengaluru-Jolarpettai-Salem route has two lines, while the 48 km Baiyappanahalli (Bengaluru) -Hosur stretch is a single-line section, with its doubling expected to be completed by January next year.

The 147 km Hosur-Dharmapuri-Omalur stretch is also single-line, while the 8.2 km Omalur-Salem section already has two lines. Further south, the 159 km Salem-Karur-Dindigul section remains single-line, while the Dindigul-Madurai-Tirunelveli section has double lines.