SCR has announced that the maximum permissible speed on the Godavari Arch Bridge between Godavari and Kovvur stations has been increased to 50 kmph on Wednesday.
The speed limit was up to 30 kmph since 2015 and was recently enhanced to 40 kmph during April this year and now having successfully conducted trials has further enhanced the speed. Railway engineers took up the challenging task of deep-screening activity with Ballast Cleaning Machines along with replacement of sleepers despite tough working conditions to make it possible. Trains running towards Visakhapatnam direction are operated on this 2.9-km bridge, said an official release.
The stretch between Godavari and Kovvur covering a distance of 5 km is located in the Golden Diagonal (Grand Trunk) route of Gudur-Duvvada section, which acts like a gateway towards eastern and northeast region particularly from the southern states of the country. The arch bridge is very crucial as the passenger and freight trains are operated with maximum capacity and hence, the section is oversaturated. This resulted in enhancing the maximum speed limit to 40 kmph in the month of April 2022.