Kochi: Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu would dedicate to the nation the newly-built 9.6-km long Tiruvalla-Chengannur double line section on Monday that would ease the heavy rail traffic congestion in the Ernakulam-Kottayam-Kayamkulam section. Mr Prabhu, who is in Kozhikode to attend the BJP's national council meet, would also inaugurate infrastructure facilities at Palakkad, Thrissur, Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode railways stations through video conferencing.
While a new platform would be launched at Palakkad station, high-speed public WiFi service will be made available at Thrissur station. Already the service is available at Ernakulam, Thiruvananthapuram and Kollam stations. The minister would also launch an escalator each in Thrissur and Thriruvananthapurtam stations besides laying foundation stone for extension of Foot Overbridge at Kozhikode railway station.
Trains have already started running through the new Tiruvalla-Chengannur doubleline section. Another key section, 12 km-long Kuruppanthara-Piravom section is slated to be thrown open for rail traffic by October one. "The opening of the sections would result in a reduction of travel time of Express trains by up to 20 minutes. The changes in their timings would reflect in the new timetable to come into effect from October 1," a senior official said.
