Union minister of state for Railways and Jal Shakti V. Somanna laid the foundation stone for a four-lane Road Over Bridge (ROB) between Guntur and Nambur railway stations in Andhra Pradesh. The Rs. 1.08 bn project, fully funded by Indian Railways, will replace Level Crossing Gate No. 3 on the Guntur-Krishna Canal section.

The 668-metre ROB, located near Guntur’s Inner Ring Road, will connect Bus Stand Road with Gorantla village. Construction is scheduled to begin shortly and will require 2.9 acres of land. The bridge is intended to reduce commuting time, fuel consumption and vehicle detention while improving train punctuality and urban safety.

Somanna said Andhra Pradesh had added 1,780 km of railway lines since 2014, including 453 km of new lines and 1,335 km of multi-tracking works. The state has also achieved complete route electrification. In addition, 838 ROBs and Road Under Bridges have been completed, while more than 350 others are in the pipeline.

The minister said the indigenous anti-collision system Kavach had been commissioned across 130 km, covering 15 stations on key corridors. A total of 38 new track projects, involving investment of Rs. 630 bn, have been sanctioned or are under way. Andhra Pradesh is also the only state with complete Wi-Fi coverage across its 341 railway stations.

Under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme, eight stations have undergone major modernisation. Redevelopment is progressing at Tirupati, Nellore, Visakhapatnam and Rajahmundry with an outlay of more than Rs. 11 bn, while 74 other stations are being upgraded at a cost of about Rs. 35 bn. Union minister of state for rural development and communications Pemmasani Chandra Sekhar said coordination between the Centre and state government was accelerating road and rail projects in the Guntur region. South Coast Railway general manager Sandeep Mathur attended the event, which was coordinated by Guntur divisional railway manager Sudheshna Sen.