Southern Railway completes 100% automatic signalling on Golden Quadrilateral routes

CHENNAI: Southern Railway has become the first zone in Indian Railways to complete 100% Automatic Block Signalling (ABS) on Golden Quadrilateral/Golden Diagonal (GQ/GD) routes, covering a total of 275 km.

This includes the vital Chennai–Renigunta (134 km) and Chennai–Arakkonam (141 km) corridors.The final stretch — Puttur to Pudi — was commissioned on June 15, completing the automation of the Chennai–Renigunta section. The stretch spans over 33 km and includes upgraded electronic interlocking at Tadaku station and modifications at Puttur, Pudi and Sri Venkata Perumal Rajupuram stations.Train No 17652 Kacheguda–Chengalpet Express (UP) and a BCN goods train (DN) were the first to run on the newly signalled corridor.Key upgrades include 19 automatic signals, 58 dual MSDAC detection points, 33 new track sections (UP and DN), and the installation of five Auto Location Huts (ALHs) for real-time monitoring. A manual level crossing at Tadaku was also converted to electric operation.The section now supports future migration to next-gen rail safety and traffic systems such as KAVACH, LTE-R, and Centralised Traffic Control (CTC). The project was jointly executed with Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd (RVNL).With this upgrade, the corridor is expected to handle more trains, reduce delays and significantly enhance safety for both passengers and freight.