Kothavalasa–Kirandul line

Kothavalasa–Kirandul line in India belongs to Rayagada railway division of East Coast Railway zone. It was under South Eastern Railway zone until 2003. It passes through three Indian states; Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Chhattisgarh.

Kothavalasa–Kirandul line
Train passing through a tunnel on Kothavalasa–Kirandul line
Overview
Status	Operational
Owner	Indian Railways
Locale	Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Chhattisgarh
Termini	Kothavalasa Kirandul
Stations	48
Service
Operator(s)	South Eastern Railway zone Till March 2003, East Coast Railway zone from April 2003 to 2019 , South Coast Railway zone and East Coast Railway zone from Feb 2019
History
Opened	1966
Technical
Track length	445 km (277 mi)
Number of tracks	1
Track gauge	5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) broad gauge
Electrification	25 kV AC 50 Hz
Route map Legend km to Pendruti 0 Kothavalasa to Vizianagaram Junction 9 Mallividu 15 Lakkavarupukota 26 Shrungavarupukota 33 Boddavara 45 Shivalingapuram 52 Tyada 62 Chimidipalli 71 Borra Guhalu 82 Karakavalasa 90 Shimiliguda 103 Araku 112 Gorapur Andhra Pradesh Odisha 125 Darliput 135 Padua 145 Bheja 156 Machhakunda 169 Paliba 177 Suku (SXV) 177 Suku (SUKU) 188 Koraput Junction to Rayagada 189 Koraput Cabin B 195 Manabar 204 Jarti 215 Maligura 222 Chattriput 229 Jeypore 238 Dhanapur Orissa 246 Khadapa 250 Charamula Kusum 261 Kotapur Road Odisha Chhattisgarh 269 Ambagaon 279 Amagura 287 Nakati Semra 293 Jagdalpur to Durg (planned) 302 Kumar Maranga 310 Topokal 316 Bade Arapur 327 Dilmili 338 Silak Jhori 347 Kumar Sadra 360 Kaklur 372 Kawargaon 381 Dabpal 392 Gidam 400 Dantewara 412 Kamalur 424 Bhansi 434 Bacheli 443 Kirandul

Railway bridge at Karakavalasa, Araku valley

Aerial view of Kothavalsa Kirandul Line and Vizag Araku highway

History

In 1960, Indian Railway took up three projects: the Kothavalasa–Araku–Koraput–Jeypore–Jagdalpur–Dantewara–Kirandaul line, the Jharsuguda–Sambalpur–Bargarh–Balangir–Titlagarh project and the Biramitrapur–Rourkela–Bimlagarh–Kiriburu project. All the three projects taken together were popularly known as the DBK Project or the Dandakaranya–Bolangir–Kiriburu project.^[1] The Kothavalasa–Kirandaul line was opened in 1966–67 under S E Railway with financial aid of Japan for transporting iron ore and costed 55.32 crore.^[2]

Geography

This line passes hill sections of Eastern Ghats through Araku Valley. The line has a total of 58 tunnels and 84 major bridges and each tunnel is as long as 520 metres.

Electrification

Electrification of the line was completed in four phases. Kirandul–Jagdalpur section was completed in 1980. Jagdalpur–Koraput section was completed in 1981. Koraput–Araku–Waltair section was completed in 1982. The Kothavalasa–Kirandul route was completely electrified by 1982.^[3]

Jurisdiction

The line has a length of 445 km (277 mi),out of which 138 km (86 mi) lies in Andhra Pradesh up to Gorapur which will be joining South Coast Railway, rest of the line will remain in the Rayagada division of East Coast Railway 131 km (81 mi) lies in Odisha up to Khadapa, 194 km (121 mi) lies in Chhattisgarh up to Kirandul. The maximum route km being in Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh with Odisha taking 3rd position.^[4] The Kothavalasa–Kirandul section is classified as a Group E-special class line in which speed should be below 100 km/h.^[5]

Performance

This line is mainly used for freight purposes which is a huge profit benefitting Waltair Division. It generated ₹2,252 crore (US$270 million) in freight earnings in 2022-23 which is a little over 25% of the total freight earnings of Waltair railway division in that financial year.^[6] Iron ore from Bailadila is transported to Visakhapatnam through this line.^[7]

Legend

km to Pendruti 0 Kothavalasa to Vizianagaram Junction 9 Mallividu 15 Lakkavarupukota 26 Shrungavarupukota 33 Boddavara 45 Shivalingapuram 52 Tyada 62 Chimidipalli 71 Borra Guhalu 82 Karakavalasa 90 Shimiliguda 103 Araku 112 Gorapur Andhra Pradesh Odisha 125 Darliput 135 Padua 145 Bheja 156 Machhakunda 169 Paliba 177 Suku (SXV) 177 Suku (SUKU) 188 Koraput Junction to Rayagada 189 Koraput Cabin B 195 Manabar 204 Jarti 215 Maligura 222 Chattriput 229 Jeypore 238 Dhanapur Orissa 246 Khadapa 250 Charamula Kusum 261 Kotapur Road Odisha Chhattisgarh 269 Ambagaon 279 Amagura 287 Nakati Semra 293 Jagdalpur to Durg (planned) 302 Kumar Maranga 310 Topokal 316 Bade Arapur 327 Dilmili 338 Silak Jhori 347 Kumar Sadra 360 Kaklur 372 Kawargaon 381 Dabpal 392 Gidam 400 Dantewara 412 Kamalur 424 Bhansi 434 Bacheli 443 Kirandul