Railway power lines to be disconnected

KOCHI:  Though the Railway Safety Board has given its nod for dismantling the spans of the North railway overbridge (RoB) right  above the rail tracks, the Kochi Metro Limited authorities are waiting for the permission of the Thiruvananthapuram division of the Southern Railways to disconnect the power lines below the bridge. This requires special sanction from the Railways. “We have already requested the sanction of Thiruvananthapuram division in this regard. The power should be blocked without disturbing the rail traffic,” metro project director P Sriram said. He was talking to reporters after inspecting the progress of the dismantling work that began on Thursday.Sriram said that the 19.4 metre long span will be torn down with the support of the trolley system as only two pillars are supporting it. “Once the issue related with the power lines is sorted out, the remaining spans can be dismantled within three days. We hope the Railways will take a favourable decision soon. However, we are confident of completing the reconstruction of the bridge within the stipulated time,” he said. Meanwhile, the traffic diversion implemented on Thursday in connection with the dismantling of the second bay went off smoothly. Though there were traffic jams at Palarivattam and Deshabhimani Junction, the alternate routes through which the traffic was diverted were not much congested. As part of diversions, which will be in force between 8 am and 9 pm till the end of the reconstruction work, auto-rickshaws, two-wheelers and goods vehicles  are not permitted through the bridge.