Kannur: A new railway bridge has been constructed to replace the old bridge at Dharmadom, which has been limiting the speed of trains. The new bridge is located on the down line route towards Kannur and will be commissioned once the associated track is ready.

Land preparation on both sides of the bridge is complete, but the work on laying the track, line cutting, and electrification is still underway. Officials have confirmed that rail installation is progressing, and the bridge will be fully operational once all necessary connections are made.

Despite the bridge being finished, the project faced delays due to land acquisition issues. The railway had to wait for years to get the required land to install the track, much of which was privately owned. Land acquisition, which began in 2015, was only completed recently and handed over to the Railways by the Revenue Department.

The line connecting Shoranur to Mangaluru has several older bridges, which still require loco pilots to slow down trains while crossing them. The Dharmadam Kottakkadavu bridge is the latest to be opened. It is located on the up line route towards Shoranur. However, other bridges such as the Thalassery Koduvally Bridge and Vadakara Moorad Bridge are still awaiting replacement. The Railway Bridges and Roads Division is overseeing this process.

Speed and side widening plans

To improve train speed, the railway authorities have also started widening the sides of the track to accommodate trains moving at speeds of up to 130 km/h. This includes straightening curves and increasing the width of the cess area on both lines (up and down). The cess is the area that extends beyond the toe of the ballast, which supports the railway sleepers.

To achieve this, soil is being raised and filled with gravel in several locations along the track. In some places, soil has already been removed, and it will be added back to elevate the area to the required level.