Electrification of Pattukottai-Karaikudi broad gauge section nearing completion

Published 12 July 2026 · india

The ongoing overhead electrification (OHE) project in the over 70-km broad gauge section from Pattukottai to Karaikudi via Aranthangi is on the verge of completion

The ongoing overhead electrification (OHE) project in the over 70-km broad gauge section from Pattukottai to Karaikudi via Aranthangi is on the verge of completion. The Southern Railway Construction Organisation is executing the OHE project along this section covering parts of Thanjavur, Pudukottai and Sivaganga districts. Installation of masts have been fully completed and wiring work from Pattukottai to Aranthangi is over. The physical work of wiring, stringing, and final adjustments in the remaining stretch up to Karaikudi would be completed by this month-end, said a senior railway official. The Southern Railway Construction Organisation was entrusted with the task of electrifying the nearly 150-km Tiruvarur-Thiruthuraipoondi-Pattukottai-Aranthangi-Karaikudi broad gauge section, falling under the vast limits of the Tiruchi Railway Division, at a cost of over ₹180 crore.

The task was taken up in phases with OHE work completed and commissioned from Tiruvarur to Pattukottai via Thiruthuraipoondi. The last leg of the project is under way from Pattukottai to Karaikudi via Aranthangi. As part of the project, traction substations have been established at Thiruthuraipoondi and Pattukottai. The Tiruvarur-Thiruthuraipoondi-Pattukottai-Aranthangi-Karaikudi will be the last major broad gauge section in Tiruchi Division to be electrified. Once the electrification project is commissioned up to Karaikudi, the entire Tiruchi Railway Division will become fully electrified. With OHE work between Pattukottai and Karaikudi reaching the final stage, the Southern Railway Construction Organisation issued a public notification recently informing the general public about the energisation of the overhead equipment from Pattukottai to Karaikudi by this month-end.

The notification has been issued to caution the road users not to approach or work in the proximity of the overhead line. Height gauges have been erected at all level crossing with clear maximum height of 4.78 metres above road level to prevent loads of excessive heights from coming into contact or dangerous proximity to the traction wire which is at a height of 5.5 metres above the rail level at level crossings. The notification asked public to observe the height and ensure that the loads carried in road vehicles do not infringe the height gauges under any circumstances. Inspection of the stretch The official said the Principal Chief Electrical Engineer, Southern Railway and Electrical Inspector to the Government will carry out a statutory inspection of the Pattukottai-Karaikudi BG section once the OHE work is fully completed and the section is energised.