Kothavalasa–Kirandul line

Kothavalasa–Kirandul line
Kothavalasa–Kirandul line passes through Araku Valley in Visakhapatnam district
Overview
Status	Operational
Locale	Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Chhattisgarh
Termini	Kothavalasa Kirandul
Stations	48
Operation
Opening	1966
Owner	Indian Railway
Operator(s)	East Coast Railway zone
Technical
Track length	443 km (275 mi)
No. of tracks	1
Track gauge	1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in) Broad gauge
Electrification	25kV AC 50 Hz
Route map Legend Kms to Pendruti 0 Kothavalasa to Vizianagaram 9 Mallividu 15 Lakkavarupukota 26 Shrungavarupukota 33 Boddavara 45 Shivalingapuram 52 Tyada 62 Chimidipalli 71 Borra Guhalu 82 Karakavalasa 90 Shimiliguda 103 Araku 112 Gorapur Andhra Pradesh state Odisha state 125 Darliput 135 Padua 145 Bheja 156 Machhakunda 169 Paliba 177 Suku (SXV) 177 Suku (SUKU) 188 Koraput to Rayagada 189 Koraput Cabin B 195 Manabar 204 Jarti 215 Maligura 222 Chattriput 229 Jeypore 238 Dhanapur Orissa 246 Khadapa 250 Charamula Kusum 261 Kotapur Road Odisha state Chhattisgarh state 269 Ambagaon 279 Amagura 287 Nakati Semra 293 Jagdalpur 302 Kumar Maranga 310 Topokal 316 Bade Arapur 327 Dilmili 338 Silak Jhori 347 Kumar Sadra 360 Kaklur 372 Kawargaon 381 Dabpal 392 Gidam 400 Dantewara 412 Kamalur 424 Bhansi 434 Bacheli 443 Kirandul

Kothavalasa–Kirandul line belongs to Waltair Railway Division of East Coast Railway Zone. It passes through three states Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Chhattisgarh.

History

In 1960, Indian Railway took up three projects: the Kothavalasa – Araku – Koraput – Jeypore – Jagdalpur – Dantewara – Kirandaul line, the Jharsuguda – Sambalpur – Bargarh – Balangir – Titlagarh Project and the Biramitrapur – Rourkela – Bimlagarh – Kiriburu project. All the three projects taken together were popularly known as the DBK Project or the Dandakaranya – Bolangir – Kiriburu project.^[1] The Kothavalasa–Kirandaul line was opened in 1966–67 under South Eastern Railway Zone with financial aid of Japan for transporting Iron ore.^[2]

Geography

This line passes hill sections of Eastern ghats through Araku Valley. This is the highest broad gauge in the world which touches as high as 996.32 metres above sea level (MSL). The line has a total of 58 tunnels and 84 major bridges and each tunnel is as long as 520 metres.

Electrification

Electrification of the line was completed in four phases. Kirandul–Jagdalpur section was completed in 1980. Jagdalpur–Koraput section was completed in 1981. Koraput–Araku–Waltair section was completed in 1982.The Kothavalasa–Kirandul route was completely electrified by 1982.^[3]

Speed limits

The Kothavalasa-Kirandul section is classified as a Group E-special class line in which speed should be below 100 km/h.^[4]

Freight

This line is mainly used for freight purposes which is a huge profit benefitting Waltair Division. Nearly 3000 crore (US$480 million) of profit comes through this line. Iron ore from Baladila were transported to Waltair through this line.^[5]

References